Ukraine Partnership

The USAID-NREL Partnership is working with Ukraine to realize a resilient, decentralized, renewable energy grid.

Two people welding.

Building Energy Resilience in Ukraine

Ukraine is maintaining light, heat, and other power needs while its grid is constantly targeted by missiles and other attacks. Resilience—for the grid, for the people operating the grid, for Ukraine—is essential for the country now and as it looks to the future. In partnership with USAID, NREL is offering support that will enable Ukraine to increase its energy independence and resilience by integrating more renewables into its energy mix.

Activities

Map of Ukraine that shows average amount of sunlight across the country on the top. Map of Ukraine that shows average amount of wind across the country on the bottom.
Top map of Ukraine shows the average amount of sunlight across the country. Bottom map of Ukraine shows the average amount of wind across the country.

The USAID-NREL Partnership is supporting Ukraine by analyzing opportunities to bring more wind and solar energy into Ukraine's nuclear-dominant system. With funding from USAID, NREL developed solar resource data for all of Ukraine. This data shows the average amount of sunlight received over the course of the year in 2-km2 resolution. The underlying solar resource data comes from 17 years (2005–2022) of satellite observations. View the Global Horizontal Solar Irradiance Data and Wind Resource Data.

This will help Ukraine meet its decarbonization goal of 50% of its power from renewable energy sources. It will also help Ukraine's energy independence and align with the European Union's plan for a clean hydrogen-based economy.

In the Wind and Solar Data for Renewable Energy Development webinar on YouTube, professionals, researchers, and policymakers involved in the renewable energy sector, particularly in Ukraine, learned how to leverage RE Data Explorer to optimize energy strategies and support sustainable development goals.

The USAID-NREL Partnership is supporting Ukraine by providing technical assistance and data analysis for distribution systems siting and project investment decisions. NREL is integrating the USAID-funded Ukraine solar resource data into NREL-developed software platforms that help size and design solar and solar-plus-storage systems. The most popular of these, PVWatts, has been translated into the Ukrainian language to enable any Ukrainian to see how much energy solar PV panels on their building could generate.

USAID and NREL are working with the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy to design a microgrid pilot project that will demonstrate how solar-plus storage systems can provide reliable, affordable, and resilient power  to critical facilities under the present conditions in Ukraine.

NREL's team conducted a comprehensive techno-economic analysis for a microgrid in Merefa. This analysis assessed system component capacities, lifecycle costs, and the probability of serving critical loads and created an operational sequence for the microgrid. This analysis is a crucial component for securing financing to implement the Merefa microgrid project and aligns with Ukraine's Energy Strategy for 2050, supporting the deployment of distributed energy resources and providing clean and sustainable energy solutions. 

NREL also provided technical assistance to quantify the impact of integrating renewable energy at the Children's Rehabilitation Center in Chortkiv. NREL performed a separate techno-economic analysis for the water utility in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, to size and estimate the economic and technical potential for solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems.  

These studies will guide both the Children's Rehabilitation Center in Chortkiv and the water utility in Chervonohrad with designing and installing the necessary equipment and can be used as tools to seek funding partners or release a request for proposals from qualified developers.  

Merefa Community Microgrid: Conceptual Design and Sequence of Operations, NREL Presentation (2024) 

Technical and Economic Screening for Potential of Distributed Energy Resource Integration at Chervonohrad Water Utility in Ukraine, NREL Technical Report (2024) 

Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium brings together power system operators from around the world to share ideas and solutions for decarbonization. UkrEnergo staff are participating in the consortium's peer learning program, which includes visits to NREL to meet with NREL researchers and staff from other power system operators.

"So many of the tool presentations had me saying, 'Wow.' We are impressed with the NREL staff's experience and its facilities. There has been so much to see and learn." Kateryna Deikun-Stepanchuk, senior engineer, Department of Balance Reliability, UkrEnergo

Additional Resources

Ukraine Fights To Build More Resilient, Renewable Energy System in Midst of War, NREL News (2023)

Game-Changing High-Resolution Solar Data Enables Renewable Energy Expansion Across Two Continents, NREL News (2024)

Toolkits Used

Renewable Energy Data Explorer

PVWatts

System Advisor Model (SAM)

REopt

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