National Energy Efficiency Agency has big plans for Ukraine

A two-day exhibit of works by the winners of the art competition “Children for Pure Energy,” organized on the initiative of Ukraine’s National Energy Efficiency Agency (NAER), ended at the Ukrainian Home on February 8, 2011. Some things have to be instilled in children from an early age. The competitors (some aged 6-7) were perhaps more keenly aware than the adults of the need to save energy resources, and that this approach could be applied not only to large-scale projects, but also to individual households. Says Kyrylo Ravinsky of Mykolaiv’s Children’s Extracurricular Center: “By contributing our own project ‘A Merry Music Train,’ we sought to demonstrate that energy resources won’t last forever, so one must use them economically. We’re setting an example by saving gas, water, and electricity.” He believes that adults can’t be taught this approach.

The drawings and paintings showed windmills and solar-power generators. The impression was that children were thinking ahead of adults. During the award ceremony, NAER’s head Mykola Pashkevych said that some of the works on display could be used in research projects.

Naturally, cultivating a public energy-saving approach is important, but it is not enough for a nationwide transition to a reasonable energy consumption policy. This children’s exhibit proved an apt opportunity to discuss more pragmatic subjects. Pashkevych told journalists that the 2011 central budget allocates 600 million hryvnias for the NAER program “Support and Development of Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving” for the 2010-15 period, and that this money is supposed to serve as a catalyst for foreign inland investments: “We’re waiting for the EU’s decision to give Ukraine money to invest in our energy projects. The first tranche is expected to amount to 31 million euros.” NAER’s five-year program is meant to lower the natural gas consumption rate by 25 percent in industry and the agrarian sector, while improving the performance of utilities and lowering the water and thermal consumption rates.

“We want to step up on work along these lines. This will help us create an attractive investment climate. However, we don’t think that 31 million euros will solve our problems. We count on this [money] being a catalyst,” says Pashkevych.

NAER’s plans include a restructuring of the biggest energy-guzzling Ukrainian industries, considering that the enterprises are in no hurry to upgrade at their own cost. In this respect, NAER also intends to only act as a catalyst. Those who will show better progress will receive government support, whereas those who lag behind will suffer sanctions. Whether the government will support this NAER initiative, what with the business lobby, will become clear shortly.

Dr. Volker SASSE, Counselor for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kyiv (this lady was the first to emphasize Ukraine’s need to adopt an energy efficient policy) commented upon the issue: “We have spent decades in Germany dealing with energy-saving problems and the development of alternative energy sources. Germany is a major exporter of energy efficient technologies and it has taken part in a number of Ukrainian energy-saving projects involving transport, use of bioenergy, agricultural waste, and other alternative energy sources. These projects appear to be making headway in Ukraine, yet each remains a pilot project. In other words, none of these can change the overall picture of energy consumption. Prospective investors are scared off by Ukraine’s legislation and judiciary system, as both look rather unstable and unreliable. At this stage, it’s hard to say what steps the current administration will take. There are examples of the situation gradually improving, that there are opportunities for doing business with the new government. However, there are alarming signals that make the investors wary. Such energy efficiency projects must be supported by society; this is the only way to carry them out. On the other hand, the state must find a way to lead public opinion in the right direction. I mean that the budget appropriations have to be used for the designated purposes instead of landing in one’s pocket.”