What needs to change for the private sector to invest in renewable energy? How to stimulate investments to take advantage of Georgia’s largely untapped renewable energy potential or for Ukraine to reach its target of 11% total energy consumption by 2020? These were some of the key questions discussed at the Renewable Energy Hard Talks organized in Tbilisi, Georgia on 12-13 December 2016 and Kyiv, Ukraine on 15-16 December 2016.
As part of our work in drafting the “REN21 UNECE Renewable Energy Status Report 2017”, Revelle Group also helped the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21 Century (REN 21) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) organize a series of Renewable Energy Hard Talks that helps to further enhance and show both organisations’ commitment in supporting sustainable energy in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. The Hard Talks and were supported by the Ministry of Energy of Georgia and Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, showing the significance of renewable energy on both governments’ agenda.
Renewable Energy Hard Talks is a concept developed by Revelle Group where the particular meetings are envisaged as high-level, high-engagement and high-impact events on the Renewable Energy Sector of the host countries with specific focus on increasing attractiveness for investors. The meetings are coined as ‘Hard Talks’ as top-tier decision makers from the public, quasi-public and private sectors as well as civil society are called to meet around one table. The participants bring their unique perspective of what the problems are and through a sincere dialogue and demonstrable desire to face those problems to reach solutions that will in principle, be acceptable by all parties involved.
At both Hard Talks, the preliminary findings of the REN21 UNECE Renewable Energy Status Report 2017 were presented to highlight progress made, latest trends and emerging issues to be tackled. The REN21 UNECE Renewable Energy Status Report 2015, which was also drafted by Revelle Group, formed a useful background document for the events.
A total of 50 representatives in Tbilisi and 70 representatives in Kyiv attended the Hard Talks and put forward recommendations for jumpstarting investments in renewable energy, improving a projects’ bankability and simplifying procedures in project development.
As a result of the Hard Talks in Tbilisi, renewed commitments were taken by the relevant national authorities to ensure a clear roadmap and policy framework for deploying renewables on a larger scale and for a wider range of renewable technologies (e.g. wind, solar, biomass. The conclusions drawn are presented in the summary document.
In Kyiv, the national authorities renewed their commitment to ensure that, following the adoption of the law on the electricity market expected early next year, further regulatory measures will be developed to support large-scale renewables deployment for both power generation and heating (including Combined Heat and Power Plants - CHPs). The top 15 recommendations for unblocking private sector investments in sustainable energy as adapted following the Hard Talk are provided here.
Please also read the joint press release for Ukraine and Georgia issued by REN21 and UNECE.
