Ukrainian communities were trained by Ukrainian and international experts in preparing energy plans
On April 4-5, the team of DiXi Group think tank held the first training session in Kyiv for ten Ukrainian communities as part of a project to support the development of Municipal Energy Plans. This is an important step on the communities’ path to improving their energy efficiency, developing green recovery, and strengthening their organizational and managerial capacities in implementing and managing energy efficiency initiatives.
For two days – April 4 and 5 – leading Ukrainian and international experts shared their experience, knowledge, expertise, current trends and tools with the participants of the training session to help Ukrainian communities effectively implement energy efficiency measures, energy management, development of renewable energy projects and innovative solutions on the path to green recovery.
“Energy based on the principles of green renewable energy will lead to a reduction in dependence on fossil fuels and decentralization of the energy system in the long term. In Ukraine, this is well understood at the local level, so communities are already working on systemic changes to become energy efficient and energy independent tomorrow,” comments Viktoriia Kovalenko, General Manager of Sustainable Development at DiXi Group. ”The DiXi Group team is pleased to offer its experience and expertise to speed up and improve this process. The training session is one of the important stages, as the information and knowledge gained will be useful for the participants, and many of the cases presented will be implemented in specific energy efficiency projects in individual communities.”
At the session, the participants together with the speakers reviewed and worked out in detail the most pressing issues and challenges facing communities, namely
- energy efficiency and green recovery;
- European Green Deal;
- opportunities for financing energy efficiency measures;
- European experience in implementing energy plans;
- basic principles of the development of the MEP;
- use of renewable energy sources in restoration projects.
“We want to support DiXi Group and Ukrainian communities in developing local energy plans. This is important for the decentralization of Ukraine’s energy system, as it will make it more sustainable and allow for the production of more green energy. The latter will be especially important when Ukraine becomes a member of the EU. In 2019, we started developing energy plans in the Netherlands, which is a difficult and long journey. Today we are happy to share our experience with Ukrainian communities. I am sure it will be extremely useful,” said Bram Romeijn, Second Secretary for Energy and Climate at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine.
“Implementing basic energy efficiency measures can improve the energy efficiency of buildings or processes by at least 30%. Therefore, today it is important for any community to clearly understand its potential. This will allow us to assess the possibilities of implementing energy efficiency measures and achieving the desired level of decarbonization. This requires specialists and energy managers. They will be able to offer exactly those measures that will be economically feasible to achieve the required results for each community. In this aspect, the experience and work of the teams of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and DiXi Group is key,” said Olesia Mishchenko, Director of the Strategic Development Department of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency.
“DiXi Group is helping ten Ukrainian communities to develop their MEPs, and I explained how regional energy planning is carried out in the Netherlands on the example of thirty energy provinces. This approach is in line with similar concepts followed by other European countries in developing regional energy policies and strategies. I am sure that this can become an example for Ukrainian communities to develop MEPs in Ukraine. Also, during the training with the communities, we focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy – two very important components of regional energy planning,” added Nico van der Linden, expert on energy planning, renewable energy and the water-energy-food nexus, Sustainable Energy Development.
As a reminder, the team of DiXi Group think tank has been working on a project to develop Municipal Energy Plans (MEPs) for ten Ukrainian communities for six months.
Communities receive expert support in collecting energy consumption data, defining goals and ways to implement the MEPs, based on the specifics of the region, the legal framework, international obligations, requirements of European energy legislation, and their own financial capabilities. The development of the MEPs by the fall of 2024 is a mandatory requirement for local governments under the Law on Energy Efficiency.
The project is being implemented by DiXi Group with the support of the Dutch government (MATRA program) and the European Climate Foundation (ECF).
