greencubator energy innovations support programme:
using evergy innivation to turn Ukriane into competitive state

Importance of energy innovations

Energy sector is a key sector of any aconomy. This simple truth was known well before energy stresses that plaqued Ukraine during last several years.

Sound energy industry is among the key drivers behind any competitive economy. Such an economy in turn is not possible withought internal competition, thus - it can not function withought innovations. Among the innovations the key ones happen in energy field, since their implementation create oppotunities for growth in dozens of industries.

Only innovations in energy sphere can allow Ukraine to become a competitive aconomy. The economic crisis provided all necessary proofs for that. It has clearly demonstrated that Ukrainian goods are increasingly less competitive on world market dut to enormous use of energy during their prodiction that drives their price upward.

According to callculations of Insight project, currently Ukraine could economise 2 billion dollars per year ($2 000 000 000) on energy saving. This means that everyday the state budget loses 5,5 million of dollars ($ 5 500 000). Ukraine has a multitude of opportunities to invest these money.

Withought new ideas and break-through projects in energy field, ukrainian business is destined to lose external and internal market, ukrainian citizens are destined to pay through the nose for low-quality energy supply and almost absent utilities.

If the wind of change is blowing, one must build a windmill, not a shelter.

Chinese proverb

There is no doubt that energy efficiency is a major challenge for Ukrainian society. Though, every challenge brings about an opportunity.

Greencubator team perceives energy sphere innovations as a tool to transform challenge into opportunity. These are mainly economic opportunities, since Ukraine needs energy efficiency in all industries and spheres of social life. Thus, we talk about an opportunity to create a new market with 46 million consumers. Moreover, this market contains more than 300 000 000 squre meters of residential spaces requiring thermal modernization, 460 cities with cintral heating system, enormous energy infrastructure that requires renovation and modernization.

Innovations in the sphere of energy efficiency will create a market that will allow not only overcome the results of financial crisis but to bring the economy to a principally new level by following means:

  • Creation of thousands of new entreprises
  • Attraction of a multitude of new investors - Ukrainian and international
  • Creation of hundreds of thousand workplaces
  • A rise of the level of tax payed

Barriers

If there exist such profound problems which can be transformed in such opportunities, why Ukrainians haven't done it yet? Quite a logical question. And the answer is simple - a lack of culture. The fact that Ukrainians do not perceive as necessary to calculate the costs of energy have brought the country to current situation which manifests itself in following ways:

  • Socialist-dotation attitudes of ALL ukrainian governments since 1991
  • Generations of people raised in spirit "the state will give me energy for free"
  • Irritated unwilingness to pay real price for energy and economize
  • Energy monopolies and multi-layered corruption in energy sphere
  • Enormous overregulation in energy sphere

What do we propose

We not only propose, we have already started acting. You can learn about our projects from the "projects" page of our site. We propose to remove the barriers mentione aboveusing communications toolkit. One can righteously ask that there were enough of talks, how can that situation be solved by more taling?

The situation can be changed by common actions of a community who realizes its goal and understands the methods and approaches needed to achieve these goals. Our projects are aimed at creation of such communities by communication means. For example, in "Energy-Efficient Universities" series of conferences our goal is to create a community of universities, suppliers of energy-efficient solutions and financial institutions with every member of that community understanding and respecting the needs of other members. At the same time this community is aimed at lowering the energy consumption in universities thus leaving more money on what universities are designed to do - education.

With whom we work

We work with energy efficiency points of growth which will provide positive examples for the whole Ukraine. These pints of growth include NGOs, businesses, representatives of media and local communities as well as educational institutions. Greencubator team thinks that these pioneers` task is to teach the whole society and state to become energy-efficient. To that end we need to unite their efforts as well as to communicate to Ukrainian society the idea that it mst follow the example of these points fo growth.

We are glad that we have many partners in creating and supporting all these points of growth. Their experiencem knowledge and talents combined with those of us makes every participant of this interaction stronger.

Who we are

You can learn more about members of our team at the "Team" page of our site. When somebody asks  us to whom we belong we calmly answer that we belong to ourselves and Ukraine. That means we are not dependent on oligarchic capitals or budget dotations.