The full-scale invasion of Russia put the RES industry on the brink of bankruptcy - Tsyganok

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought the RES industry to the brink of bankruptcy. At the same time, it is the decentralized and sustainable sources of renewable energy that can not only provide each country with a resource but also provide the absence of grounds for blackmail and terror.

This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment for ExPro by Lyudmila Tsyganok, president of the union of environmental professionals PAEU, and director of the National Center for Sustainable Development.

"The invasion brought the RES industry to the brink of bankruptcy. Occupiers shoot or trivially rob power plants. The world cannot help but see the dependence between energy blackmail and direct terror. Despite the impact on climate change, it is fossil fuels that have become an instrument of war and murder," she points out.

According to her, "green" energy should become a priority in the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian energy sector.

"Although all the projects that were already at the stage of development or construction have been suspended, and a huge % of those stations that worked are located in the currently occupied territories or have been forced to stop their work to preserve capacity, "green" energy should become the main thing in the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian energy industry. There is no other more sustainable way," Tsyganok points out, adding that while the state does not create the conditions for the development of the "green" sector in modern conditions of war, it is quite difficult to imagine an influx of investments in RES.

Lyudmila Tsyganok emphasizes that renewable energy sources should play a key role in today's world.

"It is worth remembering that the First World War caused the transition from coal to oil, and as a result of the Second World War, atomic energy appeared, and the war in Ukraine should become a powerful impetus for the transition to other sources of energy - renewable! Europe now recognizes that fossil fuels equal instability. The current energy landscape is unprecedented, but the leap in efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels now puts countries on a path to greater security. Including against the background of significant climate changes, there is no doubt that the world will soon understand the key thing about RES - it is the energy of PEACE!", Lyudmila Tsyganok emphasizes.

According to her, it is necessary to concentrate on increasing the energy efficiency of centralized heating systems and energy saving in buildings through the use of the latest technologies and developments. For example, the European Union aims to increase the use of individual heat pumps and other measures to integrate geothermal and solar thermal energy into heating systems.