Ukraine is trumpeting offers of breaks on tax and duties to lure foreign investors in clean energy as it pushes to reduce dependence on Russian gas, Bloomberg reported. The government in Kiev wants 11% of Ukraine’s power to come from renewable resources, mainly biomass, by 2020, Deputy Economic Development Minister Yuliya Kovaliv said in a speech in Berlin on Oct. 23. Ukraine needs foreign investors to help it reach its target in a market worth about €16 billion ($18 billion), she said. Foreign direct investment in the country is recovering, rising to $904 million in the second quarter from $352 million in the first, according to the National Bank of Ukraine. That compares with a net outflow in the first half of 2014 as the conflict with Russia escalated. Ukraine’s earliest onshore wind and solar projects counted on loans from development banks including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Kovaliv said Ukraine is offering added inducements for clean energy investors alongside feed-in-tariffs, including exemptions on VAT and import duties that expire in 2019.
