Ukraine

Quasi-governmental body the CPIA has released first-half figures for the world’s biggest solar marketplace which show production volumes for export markets continuing to expand and the domestic picture set to rebound after public solar subsidy levels were published.

The final segment in pv magazine’s look at unsung solar markets heads to Ukraine, where a generous feed in tariff and developments in the corporate PPA segment looks likely to push installations past the 1 GW mark for 2019.

The IPP released its latest financial figures and leadership says that with growth across all business units, Q2 2019 is its best quarter ever.

While Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and Brazil attracted more funds than last year, China’s transition to an auction-based procurement system and slow performance overall in Europe saw worldwide backing decrease. BloombergNEF does expect investments to ramp up in the second half, however.

With the project, the Norwegian developer has 282 MW under construction and project backlog of 123 MW in Ukraine. The 55 MW Chigirin project will benefit from the generous feed-in tariffs which have secured membership of the gigawatt club for the eastern European nation.

The Ukrainian market has emerged as rather fertile ground for project developers over the last two years, as a newly enacted law has eased uncertainty over the market’s future, with a quota-based auction system set to replace the country’s generous feed-in tariff scheme in 2020.

While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.

Following the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On the Electricity Market” (the Electricity Market Law) in 2017, which set out the legal framework for the new electricity market design and the role of renewables within it, the renewable energy sector has been developing rapidly in Ukraine.

As Volodymyr Zelensky celebrates his victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections, stakeholders in the country remain uncertain about his intentions in the renewable energy space. With installation figures above 1 GW in the last 12 months, the market is hot — but for how much longer?

The opening day of CISOLAR 2019 in Kiev is quickly approaching, with plans to offer workshops for installers and entrepreneurs in a market with massive untapped potential.