Recently, there was a presentation "Sun, straw and energy willow: how do municipalities improve energy security with the support of U-LEAD?". The purpose of the event was to acquaint representatives of municipalities with practical cases of forming energy independence and using renewable energy sources.
"In addition to a large training component, U-LEAD offers municipalities local subsidies to implement their ideas in various fields. Today, three municipalities represent model successful practices applicable to others. I hope that this event made some municipalities convinced that they are on the right track, and others thought about using modern renewable energy sources," said Olena Tomnyuk, Deputy Programme Director.
The project "Growing Energy Crops as a Component of Municipal Energy Independence" was implemented by Berezdivska, Krupetska and Hannopilska municipalities of Khmelnytskyi Oblast together with the Khmelnytskyi Energy Cluster NGO. The main goal is to provide municipalities with biofuel for their own needs. For this purpose, three municipalities created mother plantations of energy willow and poplar. They used territories unsuitable for agriculture. More than 100,000 energy crop seedlings were planted on three plots with a total area of 6 ha to be used for future industrial plantations. Switching to biomass is expected to reduce municipal heating costs by 30-50%.
Solar energy was "tamed" in Dubivska municipality of Zakarpattia Oblast. By installing a 10kW solar power plant on the roof of the village council building, they saved UAH 66,000 in energy costs. The project also resulted in developing an Energy Independence Programme until 2027, as well as implementing an energy management and energy monitoring system. Ecosphere NGO and Dubove Village Council implemented this project.
Despite the ongoing hostilities, Beryslavska municipality in Kherson Oblast managed to turn straw into heat. They put into operation a line for the production of fuel briquettes using local eco-raw materials (straw). The initiative is implemented by the Take and Glory NGO together with Beryslav City Military Administration.
According to Olena Tykhonova, Deputy Head of the Beryslav CMA, the municipality has survived the occupation, is under constant shelling, and lacks gas supply and even electricity in some settlements.
"We gratefully accepted the proposal for this project from the NGO. The only thing we worried about was the location of the plant in order to avoid damage. We appreciate the support of the U-LEAD Programme," she said.
This event was hosted by the U-LEAD with Europe Regional Office in Kherson Oblast. The participants, comprising more than 140 representatives of municipalities from all over Ukraine, got answers and recommendations from practitioners, exchanged contacts to further study the experience of colleagues and implement energy security projects in their territories.