The Verkhovna Rada's committee for fuel and energy complex, nuclear policy and nuclear safety has approved a provision to the bill on the new system of supporting renewable energy, according to which the launch of "green" auctions is scheduled for January 1, 2020.

The respective provision was approved at a committee meeting on Tuesday. The committee recommended the Verkhovna Rada to pass the bill reviewed, taking into account the provisions of alternative bills, at first reading.

The deadline for signing preliminary contracts to complete the projects launched in the renewable energy area on the conditions of the feed-in tariff (irrespective of the size of the project) supported by the committee is December 31, 2019.

Among the provisions on which members of the committee reached a compromise in the bill for adoption at first reading is the mandatory participation of business entities applying for state support in the auctions. In particular, the deputies propose making participation in auctions for the following projects mandatory: in 2020, for wind farms with a capacity of over 20 MW, for all other types of technologies, with a capacity of more than 10 MW; in 2021-2022 - for wind farms with a capacity of more than 20 MW, for other types of renewable energy facilities with a capacity of more than 5 MW. At the same time, starting from January 1, 2023, business entities with projects on a wind farm with a capacity of more than 3 MW and projects on other renewable energy with a capacity of more than 1 MW are to take part in the auctions.

In addition, the bill, revised for first reading, provides for a reduction in the feed-in tariff for solar power plants by 25% in 2020, with a subsequent decrease of 2.5% each year. The provision on the tariff reduction for wind farms in the revised bill remains as it is outlined in the current law: a decline of 10% in 2020 with a further decrease of 1.5% each year in the next three years.