Ukrainian officials say they have found a way to protect the nation from Russia: Go green.
Ukraine is seeking US investment in its biomass, wind and solar power industries, with the aim of using renewable energy to curb reliance on fuel imports from Russia as the dispute between the two countries continues.
“Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine indeed brought energy security concerns to the fore,” Olexander Motsyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US said at a renewable-energy conference in Washington last night.
“I strongly believe the time has come for US investors to discover Ukraine, especially its energy.”
The event was the start of a “road show” to highlight Ukraine’s renewable-energy potential, as the country looks to find solutions to reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas supplies.
Russia will demand Ukraine pay in advance for natural-gas deliveries in a month unless the latter nation resumes payments, a move that may lead to disruptions in fuel supplies to Europe, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday during an annual televised call-in show.
Talks this week in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the 28-nation EU yesterday ended with an accord to help de-escalate the conflict, after Putin said he hopes he will not have to send in troops.
As leaders seek to reduce tensions, Ukrainian officials say one way to replace Russian gas is through home-grown renewable energy production.
Motsyk said the US and the EU should consider strategic partnerships to invest in the country, while acknowledging the inherent risk, given the economic and security climate.
“The resources are there,” though a major challenge is attracting capital, Todd Foley, senior vice president for policy and government relations at the American Council on Renewable Energy.
The Washington-based nonprofit group co-hosted the event, along with the Energy Industry Research Centre, a Kiev-based consultancy.
According to the research centre, biomass and biogas are the most promising forms of renewable energy for Ukraine, in part because the nation’s network of electric-power lines and substations can’t easily adjust to the addition of significant amounts of wind and solar energy.
Biomass may help replace natural gas used in the nation’s 24,000 boiler plants, officials from the Energy Industry Research Centre said.
Vadym Glamazdin, the centre’s managing director, said Ukraine is seeking strategic partnerships with US businesses, though it hasn’t identified potential companies.
Babcock & Wilcox Co., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and closely held Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. of Coolidge, Georgia, are among companies that make boilers.
Babcock & Wilcox , which didn’t have representatives at the conference, has been working closely with the Ukrainian government to explore a fuel switch from natural gas to coal, Patrick Wilson, the company’s director of government affairs for energy, claimed. He said the company has proposed a five-plant pilot project worth $1 billion to convert the fuel.
“The number one reason for making the fuel switch is to increase the energy security of Ukraine,” he said, adding that clean-coal technology can replace some of Ukraine’s inefficient natural gas plants, providing a bridge to renewable fuels.
Glamazdin of the Energy Industry Research Center said Ukraine’s heating supply accounts for about 40 percent of all gas imported from Russia, which could be replaced with renewable energy within three to five years.
By 2030, renewables could account for about 15 percent of Ukraine’s electricity supply, up from about 2 percent now, with adequate investment, he said.
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