Alternative energy in the territory of our country is quite actively transformed into a profitable business, which opens prospects for every Ukrainian. Experts came to the conclusion that in some specific cases it is more economically efficient to generate “green” energy than farming or other agricultural activities.
A living example of this was Kirovograd farmer, who mastered the basics of solar energy production completely unplanned. Omelchenko Sergey, due to a severe drought in the summer, suffered significant losses, as his corn fields simply dried up and brought no harvest. The farmer did not despair and realized that, in addition to some inconvenience to plants, the sun could also bring him significant benefits. Then he decided to invest $ 3 million in the construction of a solar power plant on his own site. After a short time, Mr. Omelchenko reached the level of monthly income of one million hryvnia. This was achieved through the sale of electricity from SES to the state network. Such examples are mass in Ukraine and not only.
The last few years have been marked by an increase in the number of SES in the territory of our country. The capacity of solar power plants varies from 1 to 20 megawatts.
The press service of the State Energy Efficiency Agency informs that according to their calculations for 2016 more than 120 megawatts of new capacities of alternative energy were put into operation. According to preliminary data, these figures are four times higher than in 2015. Of the total capacity of almost 100 megawatts were SES.
Since last year, new solar power plants have a tariff of 15 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. Solar power plants launched a year earlier use a “green” tariff per cent more.
Prices are falling, and the demand for SES installation is constantly growing. How can this be conditioned?
Specialists in the field of alternative energy argue that such a push was made possible by the simultaneous manifestation of some positive factors. First, the state provides guarantees of support for a fairly long time. This factor allows investing in renewable energy without any fears, as support will cover the payback period.
In European countries, the “green” tariff has the property of decreasing as the objectives set by the European Union are met. Ukraine in this system is no exception. Mechanisms for a gradual tariff reduction are laid down at the legislative level. Until 2020, the tariff will go down by 20 percent compared to 2009. By 2025 the “green” tariff will be reduced by another 30 percent. In 2030, the tariff as such will be neutralized in order to stimulate the development of renewable energy. Such information was provided to DTEK.
Secondly, the government introduced incentives for the construction of SES. It consists in increasing the coefficient of “green” tariff in proportion to the number of components of domestic origin used in the construction of stations. This norm came to replace the one that obliged to have a certain amount of local equipment.
To positive factors, pushing the development of renewable energy in Ukraine is also the relatively quick reduction in the cost of equipment around the globe. According to the director of Ekotechnik Ukraine Group, the general estimate for the construction of a solar power plant markedly reduced the financial component. This is due to the fact that the equipment is gradually becoming cheaper and improving at the same time.
At this stage, one megawatt of capacity on the territory of our state will cost approximately 1 million euros (range: from 75 thousand to 1 million). At the same time, for which the SES will pay off completely is about six to seven years.
The head of the company, Wind Power, claims that their company plans to invest in solar energy. According to Victoria Syromyatova, the generation of solar energy in Ukraine has a fairly high potential in terms of investment.
Generation on a production scale at this stage in the development of solar energy is increasingly supplemented every year by SES within households. The number of private solar power plants from 2015 to 2016 increased from a mark of 244 to 1109. That is, their number has increased fourfold in a year.
An important factor in this matter is a significant increase in panel power. With a little more than 2 megawatts, power increased to almost 17.
Connected to the grid in 2016, private power plants have a “green” tariff of 19 cents per kilowatt-hour. Over time, the tariffs will gradually decrease and in 2030 they will amount to 14 euro cents.
The active growth in the number of households that have acquired solar panels is due to an increase in the permissible capacity from ten to thirty kilowatts and the linkage of the “green” tariff to the movements of the exchange rate. This approach will protect the financial investments of owners of private SES.
The payback period of SES is in the range of 6-12 years. This depends on the level of insolation in the region. For example, in Kherson or Mykolaiv regions, the payback period will not be more than seven years, and in Kiev – about twelve. Often install solar panels in cottages and this is also quite profitable, because the owners are there infrequently, and the generated energy is sold to the state.
At the moment, the world alternative energy is ready for a sharp take-off. Our country has the prospects and opportunities to join the world community in this matter.
Experts say that solar energy in the long term is recognized as the cheapest source. In Ukraine, the payback period of investments is about seven years in the realities of the existing tariff. Without a “green” tariff this time period increases to 15 years, but it is also not critical. The thermal power plant, for comparison, pays off for the same period.
The development of solar energy in Ukraine is not only a multi-billion dollar investment in the country’s economy as a whole, but also the emergence of many jobs.
