INTEGRITES and the Kyiv Post co-host the Legal Talks on renewables

On March 17, 2021, INTEGRITES and the leading English-language media in Ukraine, the Kyiv Post, co-hosted the online discussion “Renewable Energy: FUTURE OF UKRAINE”. The event served as a platform for the key energy stakeholders from the private and public sectors to discuss Ukraine’s joining the global 2050 decarbonization trend and challenges for Ukraine to face while achieving this goal.

Co-moderated by the Managing partner at INTEGRITES Dr. Oleksiy Feliv and Chief Editor of the Kyiv Post Brian Bonner, the event featured 5 speakers: Yuriy Vitrenko, acting Minister of Energy; Inna Sovsun, MP and member of the Parliamentary Energy Committee; Magnus Johansen, Vice President of NBT Ukraine; Adrien Fouchet, Country Manager of EuroCape; Maris Kunickis, CEO of DTEK Renewables.

The agenda of the discussion included the following points: the outlook for 2050 carbon neutrality goals, timeline for Ukraine’s green transition, and steps to make by both the Government and the legislator to keep the positive momentum in the green power generation.

Yuriy Vitrenko expressed the Government’s commitment to preserve the investment climate in the sector. He emphasized the Ministry’s duty to ensure the financial sustainability of the sector and solve the current debt issues. According to Vitrenko, it could be done by radical raising of the carbon tax and relocating the debt burden from the Transmission System Operator to the state budget.

Inna Sovsun discussed the political side of the matter, namely the impact of the fossil fuel interests on the renewables agenda in Ukraine. Representatives of the largest investors in Ukraine’s renewables – NBT Ukraine, EuroCape Ukraine and DTEK Renewables – mentioned offtaker solvency as well as costs of project financing as one of the main obstacles for the new projects.

Dr. Oleksiy Feliv, Managing Partner at INTEGRITES, Legal Talks moderator***: «Legal Talks around renewables is not a coincidence since the legal framework and next steps of the Government will be decisive for defining the future of the sector for at least the next decade. INTEGRITES has been representing the biggest international investors into renewables in Ukraine and is going to actively participate in shaping the legal framework in a way which would secure sustainable development of this sector».* 

Brian Bonner, Editor-in-Chief, the Kyiv Post: “The legal community and the issues they are grappling with are under-reported. Every success story, every problem and every challenge have a legal component. Kyiv Post Legal Talks is a public forum for Ukraine’s leading lawyers to highlight the issues that they and their clients are facing. The kick-off session on renewable energy was a perfect example of what the Kyiv Post hopes to accomplish in partnership with star lawyers, public servants and private businesses. In one hour, we explored the potential of renewable energy as well as possible solutions to the current problems holding back the sector”.

The full video of the Legal Talks “Renewable energy: Future of Ukraine” is available on the Kyivpost Facebook page via link