Wind energy in Ukraine has grown by 126.3 MW

Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) show that the total installed wind power capacity in Ukraine has grown by 126.3 MW last year, bringing the cumulative at 409.5 MW.

In Crimea, meanwhile, there have been no new projects, so the region’s wind capacity remained 87.7 MW.

Due to the tough economic environment, caused by Crimea’s annexation to Russia and the military operations in the eastern parts of Ukraine, UWEA has been forced to nearly halve its wind farm capacity forecast for 2015. It previously expected the country to have 900 MW to 1,000 MW of wind this year, but now sees just 550 MW.

Andrei Konechenkov, UWEA chairman, said in a press release the renewable energy sector in Ukraine is under threat currently. He explained that since August 2014 the national commission for energy has been refusing to revise the tariffs for green electricity, even though it is obliged to do so monthly when there are changes in the euro/Ukrainian hryvnia exchange rate. Under existing legislation, feed-in tariffs are index-linked to inflation.