Denmark and Ukraine have announced they are expanding their energy cooperation agreement to include offshore wind.
Danish Climate, Energy and Supply Minister Lars Aagaard launched the new deal with the Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko, which will help Ukraine expand both onshore and offshore wind.
Aagaard said: “The Russians’ destruction in Ukraine has had extensive consequences for the Ukrainians and the country’s energy security.
“That is why I am very pleased that we in Denmark can help build their competences in energy, especially wind, where we have great expertise and Ukraine has great potential.
“With the agreement, we are even more committed to ensuring that the Ukrainian people get access to electricity, that they increase their energy independence from Russia, and that they get the opportunity for a green rethinking of their energy infrastructure.”
Ukraine has great potential for developing its own renewable energy sector, and in terms of area it is Europe’s second largest country with a lot of agricultural land for setting up wind turbines.
Before the war, Ukraine had approximately 1.7GW of onshore wind, but a large part of its turbines have been destroyed by Russian attacks.
In the short term, the task consists of getting the existing onshore wind up and running again and expanding with more projects.
In the long run, the new collaboration will investigate the potential for offshore wind.
The new five-year collaboration will contribute to Ukraine being able to further expand its electricity supply with wind energy.
Danish authorities must, among other things, help Ukrainian authorities develop a regulatory framework that can promote onshore and offshore wind.
Good framework conditions are an important measure to lower risks for investors and thus a prerequisite for being able to attract investments that can develop a green energy supply in Ukraine, the Danish Energy Agency said.