IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v247y2025ics0960148125006329.html

GIS-based analysis for identifying priority regions and developing renewable energy in post-war Ukraine

Author

Listed:
  • Doronina, Iryna
  • Galleguillos-Torres, Marcelo
  • Doronin, Vasyl
  • Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne

Abstract

The ongoing geopolitical conflict between Ukraine and Russia has damaged more than half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which consequently has negatively influenced energy availability, affecting millions and forcing rapid changes in the consumption profile and security approaches. In this context, the value of renewable energy sources has increased, shifting from a pro-environmental concern to a security and economic necessity. This study provides a spatially explicit assessment of Ukraine's renewable energy potential, identifying priority regions for solar and wind power deployment as part of sustainable post-war reconstruction. Our methodology is based on the International Renewable Energy Agency's spatial analysis approach, incorporating geospatial data, and exclusion and opportunity criteria to evaluate the technical potential for generating renewable energy across different regions of Ukraine. Additionally, we applied a renewable energy need indicator to prioritize regions based on social, government, ecological, economic, and technological factors. The results show that the total potential for solar generation is 41.19 GW and for wind generation, 187.98 GW. Even if only a fraction of this potential is implemented, theoretically it could cover the electricity consumption needs that Ukraine had before the war. The research findings provide critical insights for policymakers, investors, and local authorities, offering a roadmap for integrating renewable energy into Ukraine's recovery strategy. The suitability maps and prioritization framework developed in this study serve as practical tools for guiding investment allocation, infrastructure planning, and stakeholder engagement to accelerate Ukraine's transition toward a more resilient and decentralized energy system.

Suggested Citation

  • Doronina, Iryna & Galleguillos-Torres, Marcelo & Doronin, Vasyl & Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne, 2025. "GIS-based analysis for identifying priority regions and developing renewable energy in post-war Ukraine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125006329
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.122970
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125006329
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122970?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Binetti, Marco Nicola, 2023. "Rebuilding energy infrastructures and the manufacturing sector in post-conflict countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Höfer, Tim & Sunak, Yasin & Siddique, Hafiz & Madlener, Reinhard, 2016. "Wind farm siting using a spatial Analytic Hierarchy Process approach: A case study of the Städteregion Aachen," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 222-243.
    3. Baseer, M.A. & Rehman, S. & Meyer, J.P. & Alam, Md. Mahbub, 2017. "GIS-based site suitability analysis for wind farm development in Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1166-1176.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali, Shahid & Taweekun, Juntakan & Techato, Kuaanan & Waewsak, Jompob & Gyawali, Saroj, 2019. "GIS based site suitability assessment for wind and solar farms in Songkhla, Thailand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1360-1372.
    2. Styliani Karamountzou & Dimitra G. Vagiona, 2023. "Suitability and Sustainability Assessment of Existing Onshore Wind Farms in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Sofia Spyridonidou & Dimitra G. Vagiona, 2020. "Systematic Review of Site-Selection Processes in Onshore and Offshore Wind Energy Research," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-26, November.
    4. Dehghan, Hassan & Pourfayaz, Fathollah & Shahsavari, Ardavan, 2022. "Multicriteria decision and Geographic Information System-based locational analysis and techno-economic assessment of a hybrid energy system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 189-199.
    5. Sofia Spyridonidou & Georgia Sismani & Eva Loukogeorgaki & Dimitra G. Vagiona & Hagit Ulanovsky & Daniel Madar, 2021. "Sustainable Spatial Energy Planning of Large-Scale Wind and PV Farms in Israel: A Collaborative and Participatory Planning Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, January.
    6. Shao, Meng & Zhao, Yuanxu & Sun, Jinwei & Han, Zhixin & Shao, Zhuxiao, 2023. "A decision framework for tidal current power plant site selection based on GIS-MCDM: A case study in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    7. Yildiz, S.S., 2024. "Spatial multi-criteria decision making approach for wind farm site selection: A case study in Balıkesir, Turkey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    8. Xu, Ye & Li, Ye & Zheng, Lijun & Cui, Liang & Li, Sha & Li, Wei & Cai, Yanpeng, 2020. "Site selection of wind farms using GIS and multi-criteria decision making method in Wafangdian, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    9. Elkadeem, Mohamed R. & Younes, Ali & Mazzeo, Domenico & Jurasz, Jakub & Elia Campana, Pietro & Sharshir, Swellam W. & Alaam, Mohamed A., 2022. "Geospatial-assisted multi-criterion analysis of solar and wind power geographical-technical-economic potential assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    10. Doorga, Jay R.S. & Hall, Jim W. & Eyre, Nick, 2022. "Geospatial multi-criteria analysis for identifying optimum wind and solar sites in Africa: Towards effective power sector decarbonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Vinhoza, Amanda & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2021. "Brazil's offshore wind energy potential assessment based on a Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    12. Dimitra G. Vagiona, 2025. "The Use of Comparative Multi-Criteria Analysis Methods to Evaluate Criteria Weighting in Assessments of Onshore Wind Farm Projects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Saraswat, S.K. & Digalwar, Abhijeet K. & Yadav, S.S. & Kumar, Gaurav, 2021. "MCDM and GIS based modelling technique for assessment of solar and wind farm locations in India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 865-884.
    14. Salih, Abdelrahim & Hassaballa, Abdalhaleem A. & Eltawil, Mohamed A., 2024. "Integrating spatial data and multi-criteria analysis for wind farm suitability mapping in eastern Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    15. Shao, Meng & Han, Zhixin & Sun, Jinwei & Xiao, Chengsi & Zhang, Shulei & Zhao, Yuanxu, 2020. "A review of multi-criteria decision making applications for renewable energy site selection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 377-403.
    16. Pojadas, Dave J. & Abundo, Michael Lochinvar S., 2022. "A spatial cost-benefit-externality modelling framework for siting of variable renewable energy farms: A case in Bohol, Philippines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1177-1187.
    17. Eichhorn, Marcus & Masurowski, Frank & Becker, Raik & Thrän, Daniela, 2019. "Wind energy expansion scenarios – A spatial sustainability assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 367-375.
    18. Waewsak, Jompob & Ali, Shahid & Natee, Warut & Kongruang, Chuleerat & Chancham, Chana & Gagnon, Yves, 2020. "Assessment of hybrid, firm renewable energy-based power plants: Application in the southernmost region of Thailand," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    19. Dinçer, A.Ersin & Demir, A. & Yılmaz, K., 2023. "Enhancing wind turbine site selection through a novel wake penalty criterion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    20. Paula Donaduzzi Rigo & Graciele Rediske & Carmen Brum Rosa & Natália Gava Gastaldo & Leandro Michels & Alvaro Luiz Neuenfeldt Júnior & Julio Cezar Mairesse Siluk, 2020. "Renewable Energy Problems: Exploring the Methods to Support the Decision-Making Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-27, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125006329. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.