The increase came according to a new state decree on the National Action Plan for the development of wind energy and other renewables in Ukraine for the period up to 2020, which was approved yesterday by the Ukrainian cabinet.
According to Sergey Savchuk, chairman of the Ukraine's state agency for energy efficiency and energy saving, the total volume of investments, both foreign and domestic in renewables should reach UAH 60-70 billion ($3.5-4.3 billion) by this time.
The government said that much will depend on the further development of situation in eastern Ukraine. Savchuk said the share of renewables in the country's energy mix should reach 11% by 2020. This will allow Ukraine to reduce the consumption of natural gas by about 50%.
At the same time implementation of these plans and the attraction of foreign investors may be under a threat due to a Ukrainian law on electric power that in effect stipulates local sourcing requirements.
This has already sparked critics from the Secretariat of the European Energy Community.
