Ukraine’s Green Recovery: Supporting the Democratization of Renewable Energy and Energy Communities, 2023–2024

As part of the project, the following activities were carried out:
1. Hands-on workshop on installing and configuring a hybrid
balcony solar system

In accordance with the activity plan, on October 28, 2023, the Kyiv
Institute of Renewable Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine hosted a hands-on
workshop on the installation and configuration of a hybrid balcony solar
system.

The results of the workshop are available on the organization’s website, as well as on its partners’ websites.

The participants had acquired the theoretical knowledge required during an online educational webinar 
онлайн вебінару held the previous day, October 20, 2023.
Representatives of the project’s organizers and donors
addressed the participants with welcoming remarks. The project participants included 27 (25
were planned) committed activists, academic and teaching
staff, energy managers, and internally displaced persons who
are installing, rebuilding, reconstructing, or planning to
use balcony solar stations. 
During the workshop, participants had the opportunity to apply their
theoretical knowledge in practice. The project trainers were Taras Bondarenko and
Pavlo Dereenda—representatives of NPC Ukrenergo. In the first part
of the workshop, there was a demonstration and explanation of the specifics
of connecting and installing a hybrid balcony solar power station, and participants had
the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. In the second part of the workshop,
after dividing into three working groups and receiving the necessary
equipment, the teams independently installed hybrid solar power stations under
the supervision of experts.

The workshop yielded the following results:
- Participants gained better prospects for the future in Ukraine by
acquiring useful skills and potentially new professional
qualifications;
- Participants realized their potential to make a difference in
combating climate change;
- Participants became “green” ambassadors and are ready to share
the knowledge they have gained to change mindsets and raise awareness about
renewable energy among other IDPs.

2. A brochure has been developed in the form of a practical guide titled “Sustainable
Solutions for Green Reconstruction: Solar Energy on Your Own
Balcony”
In order to share useful skills with interested
beneficiaries, the information presented at the workshop was disseminated
through the creation and release of a video tutorial, as well as
an electronic practical guide titled “Sustainable Solutions for Green
Reconstruction: Solar Energy on Your Own Balcony.”
The practical guide is available below.

3. A practical guide to establishing “Green
Energy Communities in Ukraine” has been developed.
This expert knowledge has been compiled into a guide that features
a simple and accessible presentation of the material, making it useful
to a wide audience. A key strength of this guide is that
it includes ready-to-use document templates that can be utilized
when establishing energy communities in Ukraine, such as bylaws,
business models, and more.
The guide is available below.

The primary objective of this guide is to provide a theoretical
foundation and recommendations for local developers, community leaders, and
potential investors as they work toward establishing green
energy communities and developing high-quality business plans and models
for local renewable energy projects (REP).
This guide has been prepared to assist communities and initiative groups
in developing their own small-scale RES projects. The guide’s content
is based on European experience and its adaptation to Ukrainian
realities, taking into account the specificities of local conditions and national
legislation. Although the main focus of this
guide is on the cooperative business model, which is
the most widespread in European practice, the information
presented is also largely relevant to other business
models, involving local small and medium-sized businesses and
municipal enterprises.
In the future, it is planned to distribute the guide among representatives
of the country’s communities and institutions, including universities, colleges, and others.
In addition, the guide’s materials will be used during the implementation
of subsequent projects. For example, in 2024, it is planned to organize “summer
schools” for communities, during which the guide’s materials will be distributed.
The dissemination of these materials will help motivate communities
to implement ideas for creating green energy
communities in practice.

This project was implemented with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kyiv Office — Ukraine.