KNESS experts share their thoughts after the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024)

The international conference on Ukraine’s recovery held in Berlin was intense and productive for the energy sector. The main topic was the urgent need for distributed and maneuverable generation to restore and stabilize Ukraine’s energy system after the russian attacks. Sergii Shakalov, CEO of KNESS, Ievgen Didichenko, CBDO of KNESS and  Oksana Khlyupina, Head of Corporate Finance of KNESS participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Ievgen Didichenko took part in a side event during the Ukraine Recovery Conference – “Strategies in Action: Preparing to Launch Decentralized Energy Generation Projects in Ukraine”, organized by the Ukraine Facility Platform (UAFP) together with NPC Ukrenergo and the Green Deal Ukraine project.

As part of the discussion, representatives of Ukrainian and European businesses, the government, and international financial institutions worked out steps to accelerate the active deployment of new power generation. 

The main challenges for the recovery of Ukraine’s energy sector were discussed at the event. Ievgen Didichenko noted that the main problem is the lack of sufficient offerings of frequency containment reserve and automatic frequency restoration reserve on the ancillary services market, which is due to insufficient maneuvering characteristics of existing generation units. How to deal with this? 

“We see the need for the following steps:

• introduction of long-term auctions with the price pegged to the euro (to launch ESS market)
• raising the price caps for ancillary services in accordance with the current Methodology (currently, the price is frozen at the level of 2022);
• preventing non-payments in the ancillary services market;
• and most importantly, increasing tertiary capacity reserves (gas generation), in particular by activating the market of replacement reserves,” said Ievgen.

Ievgen also drew attention to the need to regulate various combinations of joint connection of producers of different types of generation and energy storage facilities to a common connection point (the so-called cable pooling concept), in particular by developing a mechanism for small distribution systems for connection to power grids.

“The discussion demonstrated the state’s serious determination to do everything necessary to encourage investors to enter the market as soon as possible and increase generation. Real steps are being declared to meet all parties that can quickly and efficiently implement energy projects, including KNESS. In particular, the portfolio of KNESS development projects at various stages of ready to build includes facilities accounting to a total capacity of 194 MW. However, their implementation directly depends on the steps of the state, so we hope that the voice of business and investors will continue to be heard” — Ievgen is convinced.

At the same time, Sergii Shakalov participated in various formats and events of URC2024 and is confident that the main result of this event is a common determination to overcome difficulties through active interaction between business, government and international partners.

“For me, URC2024 was one of the most interesting events of this year, thanks to the participation of world leaders, experts and other representatives of the energy industry. It was three days of intensive networking, exchange of views and really important discussions,” — shared Sergii.

The most pressing topic in the energy sector today is the coming winter. The problem is clear to everyone: almost half of the capacity has been lost and needs to be restored.

“The authorities declare their readiness to assist businesses as much as possible in attracting the necessary equipment and creating a new generation. Support from international partners and financial institutions is also motivating. There is progress in dealing with military risks. There is a common determination to solve the problem. But each of us must take care of our own energy supply: businesses, household consumers, and critical infrastructure. The state only needs tools and resources, simplicity and speed of decision-making. If the trend of cooperation continues, the winter may be less difficult.

The event was marked by fruitful interaction between business and government. I am sure that this interaction should be maintained and developed further. If the approaches discussed are developed, it will have a good impact on the development of the country’s energy independence.

KNESS is open to cooperation and is always ready for new opportunities to transform the power system with a focus on renewable energy sources and energy storage facilities. At URC24, it felt like we were on the right track,” Sergii Shakalov shared his thoughts after participating in the event. 

Photos used in this post are provided by the UN Global Compact in Ukraine and the Ukraine Facility Platform.