Newly implemented rules for the Ukrainian energy market introduce solar-plus-storage systems as a separate auction category, ease regulatory barriers for standalone storage projects and establish processes for renewable energy facilities in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Ukraine adopted Law No. 4777-IX which includes amendments to legislative acts related to energy markets, electricity production and strengthening energy resilience.
The law, which formally entered into force last week, covers a total of fifteen legislative acts on the electricity market. Vladyslav Sokolovskyi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Solar Energy Association (SEAU), told pv magazine that the law is not a “single-package revolution”, but rather a series of changes that gradually remove specific barriers in the energy market.
“For investors, the most important point is different: the market will have more predictability, a longer planning horizon and a lower entry barrier for new projects,” Sokolovskyi said.
Among the changes is the extension of the support horizon for renewable energy auctioning in Ukraine from 2029 to 2034, requiring Ukrainian ministers to set an annual support quota and publish an indicative four-year forecast by December 1 each year.
It is also introducing solar-plus-storage systems for the first time as a separate auction category, which will receive a minimum quota of 10% of annual support volume, which is double the 5% each allocated to standalone solar and wind projects. The requirements for storage systems to be placed together with PV in the context of future auctions specify that the power capacity must be at least 80% of the generation capacity of a solar power plant, while the storage capacity must be at least 2 kWh per 1 kW of installed PV generation capacity. Additional analysis by SEAU adds that the maximum support price for solar plus storage has been set at €0.12 ($0.14)/kWh, described as a ‘competitive benchmark’.
Sokolovskyi said the priority for solar plus storage and the new auction logic mean the market is moving towards projects that are better integrated into the energy system. “For investors, this is important because such assets are likely to offer a more stable revenue model in the future,” he explains.
The administrative requirements regarding storage systems are also changing: a permit is now only required if the storage facility at one location exceeds 5 MW. Storage facility operators are also allowed to sell electricity to neighboring consumers at the same connection points without obtaining a supply permit, which ASEU says enables the creation of industrial microgrid models.
The law also reduces financial and regulatory barriers to new projects, including the use of escrow accounts as an alternative to bank guarantees and the implementation of a flexible network mechanism, which ASEU says creates a path to network access for hundreds of projects queued due to network capacity constraints. Sokolovskyi added that these changes make the market more accessible to medium-sized and new players because the rules are more practical.
New rules are also in force regarding renewable energy facilities in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy is setting up a special committee that will approve a list of affected facilities and determine the exact dates of the suspension and restoration of electricity supply. Commercial meters for affected facilities will be reset to zero from the date of entry into the register, meaning no payments will be made for electricity generated during occupancy. Sokolovskyi said that while this does not reduce lost assets, it does reduce some of the legal uncertainty that has limited risk assessment for investors and lenders since 2022.
Sokolovskyi concluded that much regarding the law will still depend on the quality of secondary legislation expected in the coming months. “But the direction is now clear: the Ukrainian energy market is moving towards more understandable rules of the game, which means that investors now have stronger grounds to plan new projects,” he said.
Ukraine deployed 1.5 GW of solar energy by 2025, according to an analysis by SEAU, with cumulative capacity passing 8.5 GW.
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