Ukraine -New Wind Energy Plant to Start Operating This Month

The innovative wind power plant will be launched in Donetsk region ofUkraine this month, according to Anatoly Blyzniuk.The new wind farm will start generating electricity on February 19.

Today, Ukraine uses only 0.2 percent of its wind capacity. However, the Ukrainian energy strategy foresees the increase of alternative energy generation of up to 6 percent. At the same time, the wind energy would be sufficient for providing 20 percent of electricity used by Ukrainians,said Dmytro Khmara, an energy expert to Radio Svoboda.

Nowadays around 60 percent of energy resources, mainly natural gas,in the country is imported. Therefore, increasing the wind generated energy will make the country more energetically and politically self-sufficient, mentioned Dmytro Khmara.

Other developing countries also extend their wind energy capacity.According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), India added 2.1 GW in 2010, Brazil 326 MW, Mexico 316 MW, and North African states Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia added 213 MW.

Though Ukraine is a little behind EU countries with respect to the wind power generated so far, it has made a huge progress in terms of installed wind power capacity, emerging ahead of Russia, Iceland and Switzerland according to the 2010 European statistics of the European Wind Energy Association.

"Wind power is now rapidly expanding beyond the traditional ‘rich country’ markets, a clear sign of its growing competitiveness," said Steve Sawyer, the Secretary of the Global Wind Energy Council.

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