
February 24, 2018, Ukraine became a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
IRENA was
officially founded in Bonn, Germany on January 26, 2009. During its Founding
Conference 75 countries signed the IRENA Statute and made clear commitment to
changing the global energy paradigm. The headquarters of the Organization is
located in Abu Dhabi.
In
accordance with Article IV of the Statute of IRENA, it coordinates and
intensifies the work of its members aimed at the development of renewable
energy potential by analyzing, initiating a dialogue,
providing recommendations, promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology.
As a member of the Agency, Ukraine has an access to the unique knowledge about
the development of renewable energy, the world's best experience in renewable
energy and an opportunity to participate in specialized researches that are run
by the IRENA Secretariat in order to find effective ways to reduce world
dependence on fossil energy sources.
IRENA
estimates that Ukraine has the largest potential for solar (70 GW) and wind
energy (320 GW), as well as biomass generation in Southeast Europe. According
to the results of the REmap 2030 analysis, Ukraine
has a potential to increase renewable energy use by ten-fold from 87 PJ in
2009, to 870 PJ of total final renewable energy in 2030. At the same time, 73%
of the renewable energy potential in Ukraine is accounted for by heat, 20% for
electricity generation and 7% for transport. The Agency also identified
additional potential of 26.9 TWh of wind energy, 6.2 TWh of biomass and 5.8 TWh of
solar photovoltaic (PV) that would boost the share of renewables in the
electricity sector to 25%.