Editor’s Note: In a Nov. 13 letter to Prime Minister Denys Shymal and other top Ukrainian officials, ambassadors from 11 nations urged the government to honor its payment promises to renewable energy providers.
Your Excellency,
Representing countries whose businesses and institutions have invested more than 2 billion euros of foreign direct investment in Ukraine’s renewable energy sector, we turn to you with this letter as a follow up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of June 10, 2020 concluded between the renewable energy industry and the government of Ukraine.
This MoU, which ensured a voluntary restructuring of the feed-in tariffs (FiTs) regime for wind and solar power plants under the mediation of the European Union Energy Community, was an important milestone in finding a joint path out of the crisis in the renewable energy sector.
The MoU provided the basis for the parliament’s passage of Law 810 on July 21, 2020, which, in turn, provided for the FiT reductions starting on Aug. 1, 2020. Law 810 was expected to re-establish payment discipline from the Guaranteed Buyer (GB), in particular, by unlocking additional funding sources for the GB, such as 20% co-financing of FiT payments from the state budget and the issuance of government bonds to repay the GB’s accrued debt to renewable energy producers.
We are therefore very concerned that the Guaranteed Buyer is still not meeting its obligations to re-establish complete and timely payments to renewables producers and to commence repayment of the GB’s accrued debt by the end of 2020. This is in breach of the agreement under the MoU, and it violates law 810.
It will be difficult for Ukraine to achieve the renewables target set out in the Ukrainian Energy Strategy and Ukrainian international obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement if investors cannot rely on Ukraine’s legislative framework and the government’s resolve to honor its commitments.
To attract investors, and indeed to keep existing investors, Ukraine needs a stable and predictable business climate that builds confidence in Ukraine as an attractive investment destination. The extent to which Ukraine honors its commitments under Law 810 will be noted by investors far beyond the renewable energy sector.
We look to you to ensure that Ukraine meets its commitments to restore favorable and sustainable conditions for renewable investors. This will serve to build investors’ trust in Ukraine.
Yours sincerely,
Ambassador of Belgium Alex Lenaerts
Ambassador of Canada Larisa Galadza
Ambassador of Denmark Ole Egberg Mikkelsen
Ambassador of France Etienne de Poncins
Ambassador of Germany Anka Feldhusen
Ambassador of Netherlands Jennes de Mol
Ambassador of Norway Erik Svedahl
Ambassador of South Korea Kwon Ki-chang
Ambassador of Sweden Tobias Thyberg
Ambassador of Turkey Yağmur Ahmet Güldere
Ambassador of United Kingdom Melinda Simmons
