Free Energy participated in the meeting of Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (NUCC) on the research named ‘Roadmap for small-scale hydropower projects in Ukraine’.
Norway. Small hydropower plant in Askim is a place of ecological rest. Altogether, there are more than 1500 small HPPs in Norway.
The roadmap has been developed by “EasyBusiness”, a Ukrainian NGO, in collaboration with the Ukrainian law firm “EverLegal” and Mr Arne Jakobsen, founder and former CEO of one of Norway´s largest small-scale hydro development companies ‘Roadmap’ is intended for potential investors and provides step-by-step guides on building small and medium electric power plants in Ukraine.
‘We took into account the current situation in the country and tried to understand how potential investors can maneuver in the Ukrainian business environment – in the space of existing capabilities and requirements,’ the speaker Arne Jakobsen, founder and head of Blåfall , Norwegian hydropower company says.
The researchers used advanced experience of the United States, Norway and Germany to identify more clearly gaps in the Ukrainian legislation and understand how to enhance hydropower development in Ukraine. The report also contains governmental recommendations to improve legal regulation in the sphere of small hydropower.
According to Catherine Busol, the lawyer and one of the authors of the Roadmap, now a hydro project starting from scratch will take at least two years just to start it. ‘An investor has to visit 21 different governmental authorities and receive 31 permissions. Procedures are overloaded and not transparent, and the system of ‘single window’ is not entirely well thought out,’ Catherine Busol explains.
‘Green tariffs that are now applied in Ukraine are attractive to investors and offset the risks associated with investing in small hydropower. However, the renewable energy sector requires the rules of the game to be clear, stable and uniform for all investors,’ Anatoliy Nikolaichuk, Free Energy Сhief Business Development Officer said.