Limited Quota: Although yes, it was a pilot, the size of the recent wind auction was “extremely small,” said Konechenkov, “falling far short of the substantial needs of Ukraine's power system or the expectations of investors.” 250MW must serve as a bridge to even larger rounds in the future.
Quota Restriction: Current rules prohibit developers from bidding for more than 25% of the capacity on offer in an auction. This is “counterproductive and needs to be abolished,” said Konechenkov, adding that the rule “further restricts investors' ability to secure the necessary support for planned capacity development, making it harder to mobilise the investment required for long-term energy infrastructure.”
Conflict of Interest: Ukrenergo, the national grid operator, should not be responsible for deciding on the size of auctions given its “inherent conflict of interest” as an entity that helps fund the transmission tariff and Guaranteed Buyer, said Konechenkov. Ukrenergo already faces a “chronic electricity transmission tariff deficit,” so has reason for caution about increasing the size of auctions. “As a result, the current process of quota allocation leads to consistently minimal quotas, hampering investment potential.”
Ineffective CfD Mechanism: Power producers must currently pay back their profits to the Guaranteed Buyer each month, but given the entity’s huge debts, Konechenkov said there is “no guarantee that it will fulfil its payment obligations if the market price drops below the auction price,” which “undermines investor confidence.” Reform is needed, with one possibility being to start using a feed-in premium tariff.
Instability of the Public Service Obligation (PSO) System: Ukraine has implemented PSOs to help protect consumers from sharp power price hikes and foster more renewables development. But the government has consistently failed to meet its PSO obligations and tried to change how the mechanisms work, said Konechenkov, and this lack of stability “creates further uncertainty and risks undermining investor trust.”

‘Ukraine’s first wind auction failed – these five steps could fix the next one’