On May 11-12, a two-day conference “Covenant of Mayors in Ukraine: Working together towards the green reconstruction of Ukraine” was held in Lviv. The event brought together representatives of central authorities, communities and associations of local self-government bodies. Representatives of the institutions of the European Union also participated online.

Georgii Geletukha, the Head of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, took part in the conference as a representative of the RES professional community.

During the multi-format event, visits to the city’s household waste management infrastructure facilities were organized. In particular, the participants of the event got acquainted with the following infrastructure projects:

  • Mechanical and biological processing of solid waste to obtain RDF, which will be sold to the Ivano-Frankivsk cement plant for burning in incinerators This facility is currently 25% built and should be completed by the end of the year. The Polish company “Control Process” is responsible for the construction. The cost of the project is EUR 50 million (of which EUR 10 million is a grant, and the rest is EBRD and EIB loans).
  • A composting station that turns a separately collected portion of organic waste into compost which is used by the city for parks and flower beds.
  • The Hrybovytsky solid waste landfill that was previously reclaimed. After the fire in 2016, the landfill was closed for the removal of new solid waste. For this purpose a biogas collection and leachate treatment system was built. Reclamation was provided with the landfill body covered with three layers of geomembranes. The total cost of the works is more than 20 million euros.

The main conclusion of the expert’s speech in Lviv

In addition, Georgii Geletukha presented speech to the participants of the event. He said about the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine achievements and the promising vision of green technologies development in the state.

The expert emphasized that three gas prices are existed in Ukraine reduce the competitiveness of biomass and lead to even greater dependence on gas. The price of gas in Ukraine should correspond to the market.

In addition, a biofuel exchange is needed. Its creation will expand the biomass use and form a competitive market.

Another important step will be the priority access of RES to centralized heat supply systems. This tool, which is successfully tested by Lithuania, should work in Ukraine.

Also, according to the UABIO Head of the Board, there is a need to develop an incentive mechanism to replace green tariffs. One of such solutions can be the launch of auctions that can help to increase electricity generation from biomass and biogas.

“Currently, the most promising area of bioenergy is biomethane, which is critically important to replace natural gas. By the end of the year we will have five biomethane plants. But more actions to be done. Investors should see the expediency of such projects. Renewable energy sources are the key to energy security”, emphasized Georgii Geletukha.

To conclude, the importance of the development of alternative sources, such as energy from the sun, water, wind, bio- and geothermal energy, is huge. This approach will make energy system more extensive and resistant to missile and drone attacks by russian terrorists. Therefore, the development of RES is currently a matter of energy security.

The full article with Georgii Geletukha’s extended arguments during the Covenant of Mayors conference in Lviv is available on the Gromada Group website (in Ukrainian).


Sources: