Hanna Zamazieieva: Moving Toward Practical Implementation of the “Energy Independence” Program

Hundreds of government buildings across Ukraine will undergo energy certification and be equipped with solar power plants with storage systems. This represents over half a billion hryvnias in annual savings and a confident step toward the country’s energy independence.

Each year, government institutions spend more than UAH 90 billion on energy resources:

• UAH 23.6 billion from the state budget

• UAH 67.8 billion from local budgets

Energy efficiency measures could reduce these costs by nearly half — approximately UAH 45 billion per year.

“Every hryvnia saved from the budget is an additional hryvnia for the people: for social programs or defense needs. Lower energy costs mean more stable prices for bread, milk, and medicine. Taxes should serve the citizens, not disappear in energy bills,” emphasizes Hanna Zamazieieva, Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE).

A year ago, the Cabinet of Ministers set a goal to reduce energy consumption by state sector buildings and assigned SAEE responsibility for implementing energy efficiency policies in central executive authorities.

To achieve this goal and implement the EU’s Ukraine Facility initiative, the National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030, and Directive (EU) 2023/1791 on Energy Efficiency, SAEE launched the #EnergyIndependence program, focusing on exemplary performance in public sector buildings.

The program provides government support for:

• Installation of solar power plants with energy storage systems;

• Energy certification of public authority buildings and government institutions;

• Energy audits.

Throughout the year, SAEE actively engaged with central executive bodies, provided consultations, and collected and processed applications.

Results of the program to date:

• Nearly 5,500 applications received from state bodies and enterprises: 1,735 for solar installations with storage, 3,745 for energy certification and energy audits. The most applications came from Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions.

• 2,918 buildings selected for energy certification/audits and 26 enterprises for process energy audits.

• 1,550 sites identified for solar installations with storage, totaling 51.6 MW of required capacity.

All measures for government institutions participating in the program will be carried out in accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 761 of June 21, 2024, funded by the Decarbonization and Energy Efficiency Transformation Fund.

By the end of 2025, the program aims to:

• Install solar power plants on 200 government buildings;

• Conduct energy certification for 2,000 buildings;

• Perform energy audits at 20 state enterprises.

Further measures will continue next year. Currently, designers are analyzing the collected data to ensure the most efficient installation of solar systems with storage across government facilities in Ukraine.

“This is just the beginning. The program will generate nearly 68 GWh of clean energy annually, reduce CO₂ emissions by 28,400 tons, and save UAH 575 million in budget funds,” emphasizes Hanna Zamazieieva. “We must act now — for energy security and the well-being of Ukrainians.”

The implementation of the Energy Independence program will help Ukraine meet EU energy efficiency directives, strengthen energy resilience, and create comfortable conditions and new opportunities for development.