Ukraine Energy Crisis: Winter Challenges Ahead and Emphasis on Renewables

Ukraine’s prime minister warned Tuesday of a coming winter that could be the country’s harshest since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, with airstrikes targeting the country’s strained energy infrastructure escalating the crisis.

Russian attacks continue to destroy Ukraine’s energy potential, making the country dependent on three operational nuclear power plants and electricity imports from the European Union.

“Energy resilience is one of our biggest challenges this year,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a news conference in Kyiv. He noted: “We have successfully survived two and a half winters of pressure and will surpass three, although the coming season is expected to be the most difficult so far.”

In response, Shmyhal said the Ukrainian government, backed by European countries, is urgently implementing initiatives to decentralize energy generation to reduce vulnerability. This includes expanding renewable energy capacity, a move supported by environmental groups.

Greenpeace is advocating for a decentralized solar power grid to bolster the country’s energy resilience to Russian missile and drone attacks. They are calling for almost €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion) in internationally backed investment by 2030, focusing on renewable projects, particularly solar power.

“Our research suggests that the Ukrainian government’s solar energy targets by 2027 could be increased by at least five times – that’s a conservative estimate,” Natalia Gozak, head of Greenpeace Ukraine, told The Associated Press.

The United Nations and the World Bank report that Ukraine lost more than half of its generating capacity in the first 14 months of the war, exacerbated by the loss of solar energy in the sun-rich southern regions under Russian occupation. Ukraine’s prewar energy mix consisted mainly of coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear sources.

Greenpeace’s Alexander Egit stressed the importance of Western donor countries supporting renewable energy projects during and after the war. “We foresee significant investment in Ukraine’s reconstruction by the European Union and beyond,” he said. “Greenpeace’s role is to advocate for decentralized renewable energy to rebuild Ukraine as a modern, green and independent nation.”

(Based on information from the agency.)