---
title: "“Afraid but considering”: Ukraine's renewable energy investors demand guarantees ahead of new green auctions"
description: "Investors in Ukraine's renewable energy sector fear a repeat of the debt history and demand guarantees of timely payments before participating in new green auctions"
date: 2026-09-05T11:20:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-renewable-energy-investors-demand-guarantees-green-auctions
tags: [renewable-energy, ukraine, green-auctions, energy-debts, wind-energy, investment]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# “Afraid but considering”: Ukraine's renewable energy investors demand guarantees ahead of new green auctions

![Wind turbine against a wheat field and blue sky — a symbol of Ukraine's renewable energy development ahead of new green auctions](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/05/investory-vozobnovlayemoy-energetike-boyatsya-dolgov/investory-vozobnovlayemoy-energetike-boyatsya-dolgov-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Around 4–5 companies are considering participation in new green auctions but are demanding payment guarantees
- The debt problem intensified after the 2020 agreements on reducing the green tariff
- Total arrears in Ukraine's energy sector exceed 300 billion UAH, of which about 140 billion is in power generation
- The current tariff level does not cover the full costs of RES generators

Ukraine's renewable energy market is going through a contradictory period: on the one hand, business is showing interest in new green auctions, while on the other, a multi-year history of non-payments and growing arrears is forming a persistent barrier to trust. This was stated by Andrey Konechenkov, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA), commenting on companies' readiness to participate in tenders for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES). According to him, around four to five companies are currently considering the possibility of entering the new auctions, however the key condition for their participation is the guarantee of timely payments by the state.

### The debt crisis as a legacy of the 2020 agreements

In Konechenkov's assessment, the roots of the current problem go back to the 2020 agreements on the voluntary reduction of the green tariff. At that time, investors agreed to a reduction in payments in exchange for the repayment of accumulated debts. However, as the head of UWEA emphasizes, additional mechanisms were subsequently introduced which, contrary to expectations, only increased the volume of arrears. “These 20% played their negative role, further increasing the amount of debts. To this day we are working our way out of this situation,” Konechenkov noted. It is precisely this experience, he says, that forms the psychological barrier: companies are “afraid, but at the same time considering the possibility of participating in the auctions.”

### Tariff economics and declining consumption

An additional factor pressuring RES project economics is the level of the tariff itself. As Belgian top manager and renewable energy expert Loïc Lherminio previously noted, the current level of the green tariff no longer covers the full costs of generating companies. At the same time, electricity consumption in Ukraine continues to decline against the backdrop of reduced economic activity and the development of own generation among large consumers. The combination of these factors makes new projects less attractive without additional guarantees from the state.

### The scale of the debt burden in the energy sector

The problem of non-payments is not limited to the RES sector. According to data from Alexander Kharchenko, Director of the Centre for Energy Studies, the total amount of debts in Ukraine's energy sector exceeds 300 billion hryvnias, of which about 140 billion falls directly on the power generation sector. The incumbent Minister of Energy Artem Nekrasov has confirmed that debts in the energy market and payment delays to producers remain one of the main barriers to the inflow of investment into the sector. For his part, Oleksiy Kucherenko, Deputy Head of the Energy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, pointed out that the arrears amount to tens of billions of hryvnias and are creating growing financial problems for the industry as a whole.

### Contradictory data

In the public discourse around the scale of the debt burden, there are discrepancies in the figures and wording. Alexander Kharchenko operates with a figure of over 300 billion UAH for the energy sector as a whole and about 140 billion UAH for power generation. Meanwhile, Oleksiy Kucherenko characterizes the volume of debts as “tens of billions of hryvnias,” which may be perceived as a more conservative estimate. The difference is probably explained by a difference in calculation methodology: Kharchenko probably includes in the calculation the total arrears of all market participants (generation, transmission, distribution, consumers), while Kucherenko may be talking about a specific subcategory or about net non-payment in a certain segment. In addition, Konechenkov points to the role of the “20 percent” mechanism in the growth of debts, however the exact regulatory act and the period of its application are not detailed in his statement, which leaves room for various interpretations.

### What's next: conditions for the return of investment

The situation in Ukraine's RES market as of September 2026 remains in a state of waiting. The four to five companies considering participation in the new auctions are effectively putting the state to a choice: provide legally enshrined guarantees of payments or lose the already limited pool of potential investors. Without resolving the issue of long-term non-payments and revising the tariff model, experts assess that a large-scale return of private capital to the renewable energy sector in the medium term is unlikely.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Investors fear a repeat of the debt story in renewable energy, says expert](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/investori-boyatsya-povtorennya-istoriyi-borgami-1788606974.html) - Прямые цитаты А. Конеченкова о страхах инвесторов, 4-5 компаниях, 2020-х договорённостях и 20%-м механизме. Контекстные данные по долгам (Харченко, Некрасов, Кучеренко, Лерминьо) приведены как ранее опубликованные заявления.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How many companies are considering participation in new green auctions in Ukraine?
**A:** According to Andrey Konechenkov, Chairman of UWEA, at present around four to five companies are considering the possibility of participating in the auctions.

### Q: Why are investors afraid to participate in new RES projects?
**A:** The main reason is the multi-year history of non-payments, which intensified after the 2020 agreements on the voluntary reduction of the green tariff. Companies are demanding guarantees that the situation with long-term debts will not be repeated.

### Q: What is the total volume of debts in Ukraine's energy sector?
**A:** According to Alexander Kharchenko, Director of the Centre for Energy Studies, the total amount of debts exceeds 300 billion hryvnias, of which about 140 billion falls on power generation.

### Q: Why is the current green tariff considered insufficient?
**A:** As Belgian expert Loïc Lherminio noted, the current tariff level does not cover the full costs of generating companies, while electricity consumption in the country is declining due to reduced economic activity.