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Hamburg/Kyiv, April 11, 2024 – A mere fraction of its suitable land area could meet the entire electricity demand of Ukraine through solar and onshore wind energy alone. This conclusion stems from a new study conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney on behalf of Greenpeace. Moreover, the country could even yield a substantial surplus for energy export. To harness this economic potential, existing power lines need reinforcement while new ones must be constructed, facilitating better integration with EU nations. By 2030, this endeavor could spawn around 20,000 additional jobs.
"Solar and wind energy prove particularly adept at shielding the Ukrainian populace from power outages resulting from massive Russian assaults on energy infrastructure. Additionally, these capacities can be developed swiftly and affordably," asserts Andree Böhling, Energy expert at Greenpeace Germany. Yet, the potential of renewables in Ukraine continues to be grossly underestimated. "Our good news to the Ukrainian government: we found that the potential of Solar PV is about 60 times higher than they assumed in their draft of the “Ukraine Plan'' to the EU." remarks Böhling. "EU Commission and Ukrainian Government should scale up the ambition on the use of renewable energy significantly, out of their own interests."
The study evaluates the potential of onshore wind energy and solar energy in two distinct scenarios, given their substantial, sustainable, and cost-effective contribution to Ukraine's energy supply. Utilizing digital data from the Geographic Information System (GIS), the Institute calculated the wind and solar energy potential.
Scenario 1 considers all sustainably usable and geologically suitable land areas of the country. In Scenario 2, only suitable areas within a maximum of 10 kilometers from the nearest high-voltage power line are taken into account. Merely 0.46 percent of the solar and 0.4 percent of the wind potential suffice to power the entire country. Even under the more realistic assumption that only areas within a 10-kilometer radius of a high-voltage power line are available, Ukraine could cover its electricity needs with wind and solar energy on just one percent of its land area. The consumption of the year 2021, before the outbreak of the war, serves as the benchmark for calculation.
"Our study unveils the tremendous potential of wind and solar energy, surpassing the current electricity demand of the country nearly 150 times over," remarks Prof. Dr. Sven Teske, author of the study. "The EU stands to benefit immensely from green electricity or hydrogen from renewable energy from Ukraine as part of its decarbonization efforts, while the country itself opens up enormous economic prospects for reconstruction."
Further information: Please find the “Ukraine plan” here, the estimations regarding the solar energy potential are detailed on page 211.
