Ukrainian Wind Energy Market Review 2024: UWEA report prepared with the participation of Altelaw and Asters

The Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) in cooperation with Altelaw and Asters, UWEA members, presented the Ukrainian Wind Energy Market Review 2024.

The Review is structured into sections devoted to the analysis of: 

• key wind energy trends in Europe and the world 

• structure of the energy balance of Ukraine 

• achievements and challenges of the Ukrainian wind energy sector 

• legislative changes adopted in 2024 and expected in the following years of  UWEA activity 

Significant attention in the Review is paid to the implemented and announced mechanisms for supporting renewable energy in Ukraine, as well as the analysis of legal mechanisms for interaction between developers and investors.  

 A special feature of the 2024 Review is analyzing a new segment of the Ukrainian wind energy market, specifically projects with used wind turbines.

 Some key findings from the Review

• Ukraine’s decentralization course continues to transform the energy system with a focus on distributed generation. Key strategic documents: The National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Renewable Energy Action Plan until 2030, as well as the Distributed Generation Development Strategy until 2035.  The national target is to achieve 27% of RES in gross final energy consumption by 2030, which requires an increase in wind power capacity by at least 4 GW. 

• State of the onshore wind energy market. In 2024, 20.6 MW of new capacity was added, and the total capacity of the industry reached 1921.4 MW (including wind farms located in the temporarily occupied territories, but excluding the Autonomous Republic of Crimea). Moreover, the market for used wind turbines has begun to develop in the country, with a total installed capacity of 32 MW. However, despite the modest growth rate, 2024 was a year of preparations for the introduction of new large wind farms, which are expected to be built in 2025-2026.

• Key market challenges: 

 -Existing debts to RES producers 

 -Inefficiency of the auction model, FiP, CfD, Corporate PPA 

 -Lack of international recognition of guarantees of origin

-Difficulty in attracting financing for projects and the existing need to simplify the procedure for developing wind energy projects during martial law.

 Offshore wind energy 

 Work continues to calculate the technical potential of offshore wind energy in the Black and Azov Seas of Ukraine. According to updated data from the Danish Technical University, this potential reaches 50 GW: 20 GW for floating wind turbines and 30 GW for fixed-bottom wind turbines. However, the first offshore wind energy projects will be able to appear in Ukraine only after the lifting of martial law in the country and the de-occupation of the relevant maritime territories.

 Despite the war, Ukraine continues to focus on developing a sustainable energy system with an emphasis on RES.