US Energy Minister Jennifer Grenholm said that thanks to its resources, Ukraine will become a leader in the production of "green" energy for its own consumption and export to the EU in the future.
She also emphasized that energy independence is in the interests of Ukraine's security, Voice of America reports.
Grenholm emphasized that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine created a new geopolitical divide around energy, and Russia turned it into a weapon. This accelerated the movement towards energy security through the development of "green" generation.
She also agreed with Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan's thesis that no country can ban access to the sun and use it as a weapon, no country can ban access to the wind and use it as a weapon. And green energy is the best peace plan.
The minister added that the US wants to accelerate the spread of renewable energy. However, it is currently necessary to increase the production of fossil fuels to compensate for Russian energy resources.
Granholm also emphasized the importance of nuclear generation, both for Ukraine and for a number of other countries. However, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe should not be dependent on Russian reactors or uranium.
She also said that Ukraine closely cooperates with the USA regarding changes in the energy system.
“The National Renewable Energy Laboratory creates roadmaps for countries that have expressed interest in transitioning to 100% renewable, 100% clean, carbon-free energy. And we want to work with Ukraine, which has expressed a desire to do this, to provide technical roadmaps," the minister said.
In her opinion, Ukraine has the potential to rebuild a sustainable energy system and achieve energy security.
"Such energy security must be achieved, of course, through "clean" energy, and this is exactly what the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, proposed. And that is why we are fully ready, and we are already working on plans, so that as soon as the war in Ukraine ends, it will be possible to build this future for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian economy," said Grenholm.
She also emphasized the importance of creating a distributed electricity grid so that damage to one area does not bring down the entire region.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Ukraine's new energy sector must be formed on the basis of sustainability, decarbonization, energy security, meeting the needs of economic development and the course of European integration.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, International Energy Agency analysts assumed that the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as state aid programs in the US and the EU, will speed up the energy transition by 5-10 years.
