How RePower Ukraine is building clean energy resilience for communities on the frontlines

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the 12th year of our fight to defend sovereignty and freedom since the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014.

At this time, Ukrainians are experiencing a profound humanitarian and energy crisis, of the type we thought we'd never see again in Europe - definitely, not in the 21st century. Our energy system, including substations, powers grids, thermal and electricity generation facilities, as well as gas transmission and extraction infrastructure are under constant attack.

The infrastructure of densely populated cities, home to hundreds of thousands of people, is under extreme pressure. The scale of urbicide has reached unprecedented levels. Hospitals and prenatal centres are experiencing hostilities regularly. Heating and water supply infrastructure is paralysed. The aggressor is convinced it has the right to force our people, and indeed any European nation, into submission. They're wrong.

At Repower Ukraine, we are meeting these immense challenges with determination, resilience, and practical solutions. As the World knows, the aggressor is conducting an ongoing campaign, including the deliberate targeting of our energy infrastructure and other essential civilian facilities. To date, approximately 70 per cent of power generation in Ukraine has been destroyed, leaving millions of people without light and heat for days amid winter, and in what has been a most brutal winter, even by Ukrainian standards.

As of January this year, as many as 2,551 facilities comprising 817 healthcare institutions have been damaged or destroyed since the invasion, according to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. In particular, 327 facilities in 125 healthcare institutions were completely destroyed as a result of enemy actions. The most damage has been suffered by medical facilities in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv regions. US non-profit Physicians for Human Rights adds that, shamefully, 359 medical workers have been killed and 379 injured since the full-scale invasion.

In response to these challenges, RePower Ukraine Charitable Foundation, founded in late 2022 by Ukrainian renewable energy experts, has been bolstering communities' energy resilience to cope with ongoing wartime conditions. With partner and industry ambassador support, the foundation equips hospitals and schools with vital power backup equipment, reskills tomorrow's solar specialists, and deploys decentralised energy solutions through Ukraine, including frontline regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.

Powering hospitals and schools during power outages RePower Ukraine has supplied over 1,000 power devices (portable power stations, generators, voltage stabilisers and heaters) to hospitals and schools in the Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kyiv regions and the city of Kyiv. This equipment ensures autonomous operation during power outages, ensuring the uninterrupted operation of operating rooms, intensive care units, and schools.

With strong corporate and institutional donor support, the foundation has to date financed and installed 11 solar power plants with battery storage for hospitals of a total capacity of reaching 400kW and 500kWh storage. These systems power nowadays vital departments in frontline medical facilities from Kharkiv to Kyiv. Our planned pipeline for this year includes five additional hospital projects with PV and battery systems.

Securing water supply in frontline regions is another key challenge. RePower Ukraine has implemented two solar projects with storage for communities in Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions. These systems ensure uninterrupted water supply even during prolonged power outages, supporting vital services for around 4,000 residents. Partnerships for sustainable community recovery are building local resilience. The foundation has signed 15 cooperation agreements with number of local communities for the sustainable restoration of energy infrastructure. RePower Ukraine takes a holistic approach to working with communities. In addition to solar installations, it implements educational programmes for children and collaborates on opportunities for renewable energy development and energy transition.

Reskilling veterans and internally displaced persons in solar technologies is offering hope to people whose lives have been turned upside down or worse, by war. The foundation delivered ten training courses on solar energy and sustainable development. We have also organized three specialized training courses on the installation and design of solar power plants. A total of 138 participants: veterans, their family members, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), completed training in solar power plants installation and design. 36 per cent of graduates are now employed by solar energy firms or have launched their own businesses.

In addition, with the support of its partners, the foundation is modernising the material and technical base of three vocational and technical educational institutions that train solar power plant installers. These specialists are shaping Ukraine's workforce for sustainable energy reconstruction and the development of the renewable energy sector, including energy communities.

Our projects prove solar power is key to Ukraine's energy resilience. They not only ensure hospital, school and community autonomy during wartime, but also lay the foundation for sustainable development post-victory.

On this most terrible of fourth anniversaries, we are appealing to our colleagues in the UK solar industry for more support in delivering vital solar and battery projects to Ukrainian hospitals. This is essential and urgent work. We are literally saving lives and providing much needed hope amid the chaos of very frequent power cuts. We need to rebuild, better and more innovative. Now is the time to act. Every contribution will make a big difference, and bring us closer to victory and a sustainable future for Ukraine.

Svitlana Vovchenko is director of the RePower Ukraine Charitable Foundation.