Ukrainian communities are increasingly facing a challenge that goes far beyond current utility costs. It is not just about physically saving electricity or heat, but about the ability of communities to plan their own energy security, reduce dependence on external risks, modernize social infrastructure, and gradually transition to more resilient development models.

For the Ukraine Support Team, this area is one of the practical examples of how expert support can be transformed into concrete solutions for communities. The experience of working with Ivanivska hromada in Chernihiv Oblast demonstrates the full cycle of such support: from collecting and restoring energy data to preparing a municipal energy plan and project documentation for solar power plants.

Why Energy Planning Has Become Critical for Communities

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the issue of community energy resilience has taken on new significance. For local governments, it is no longer just a question of long-term development, but a condition for the continuous operation of schools, administrative buildings, medical and social facilities.

Tamara Burenko, UST expert on energy-efficient development of communities and enterprises, emphasizes the importance of developing a Municipal Energy Plan (MEP) for stable energy functioning:

“An MEP is not only about achieving emissions reduction targets. It is about a comprehensive set of energy efficiency measures in a community that allows savings on energy resources and smart selection of available fuels and energy sources, which will significantly reduce local budget expenditures and ensure the sustainable delivery of social services to all residents. It is about reliability and compliance with European principles and standards.”

That is why UST works with communities not through general recommendations, but by preparing practical tools: energy consumption analysis, baseline indicator development, identification of priority energy efficiency and conservation measures, assessment of renewable energy potential, and development of project solutions.

In Ivanivska hromada, this work began with the development of an energy plan for the period through 2030. The goal was to provide the community with strategic solutions for improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions, and introducing renewable energy. The UST team analyzed the community’s energy status, established consumption baselines, and developed priority measures to strengthen energy security and ensure the autonomous operation of key facilities providing essential social services to residents.

Ivanivska Hromada as a Case Study in Working Under Difficult Conditions

What makes the Ivanivska hromada case distinctive is that the energy planning work took place amid significant loss of source data. The community was under Russian occupation for 25 days, and all documentation and data required for the preparation of the municipal energy plan was destroyed during the fighting and occupation in 2022.

For UST, this meant that energy planning had to be rebuilt essentially from scratch. The team collected, restored, processed, analyzed, modeled, and re-evaluated energy data, assessed the current condition of facilities, worked with the community to define realistic goals, and formed a set of projects that could be implemented at the local level.

This approach matters beyond Ivanivska hromada. It demonstrates how war-affected communities can return to systematic development management even when foundational technical and administrative information has been lost or damaged.

23 Projects to Reduce Energy Consumption

The outcome of UST’s work was the formation of an energy plan for Ivanivska hromada through 2030. The plan proposed 23 projects aimed at improving the community’s energy efficiency. According to UST estimates, their implementation will reduce energy consumption by 424 MWh.

Key focus areas include modernization of heating systems, thermal retrofitting of buildings, and the introduction of renewable energy projects with electricity storage systems. The combination of these areas is fundamentally important: the community receives not a collection of isolated measures, but a comprehensive roadmap that allows it to gradually reduce costs, improve infrastructure reliability, and attract partners to finance specific projects.

The report prepared by UST is intended to serve as the foundation for the development and adoption of Ivanivska hromada’s local energy plan. The project is being implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

From Plan to Project Documentation

The next stage of the work involved preparing concrete project solutions for the implementation of renewable energy. In March 2026, UST handed over to Ivanivska hromada the project documentation for three solar power plants with storage systems, covering the Kolychivskyi Lyceum, the Ivanivskyi Lyceum, and an administrative building.

As part of this work, the design team prepared feasibility studies for all three solar plants. The optimal type of stations was determined, and calculations were made for capacity, expected electricity generation, cost, and payback period. Pre-project solutions were also developed, including layout and connection diagrams for the solar plants and an indicative implementation budget.

This is a significant practical result: the community received not just an analytical document, but a prepared foundation for attracting financing, completing technical procedures, and implementing projects at specific social and administrative infrastructure facilities.

UST’s Role: Not Instead of the Community, but Together With It

The experience of Ivanivska hromada shows that effective support for local government must be built not on external universal solutions, but on collaborative work with the community. The UST team visited the hromada, inspected social infrastructure facilities, discussed technical aspects, and held working meetings with the leadership of the Ivanivska Village Council.

This format makes it possible to better account for the actual condition of facilities, the community’s management capacity, available resources, and priority needs. That is why energy planning as carried out by UST is not a formal document, but a practical decision-making tool.

As UST head Olena Koltyk noted during the presentation of results in Ivanivska hromada, the team helps develop concrete action plans adapted to the real situation in each community.

Why This Experience Can Be Scaled

The Ivanivska hromada case is instructive for many Ukrainian communities, particularly those affected by combat operations or with limited staffing and technical resources to independently prepare energy plans.

UST’s experience demonstrates several important principles that can be applied in other communities:

First, energy planning must begin with thorough data collection and analysis. Second, plans must include not only general goals but specific projects with expected outcomes. Third, renewable energy must be considered part of a broader energy efficiency system, not as a standalone symbolic measure. Fourth, communities need not just consultations, but ready-made documents that can be used to attract financing and support practical implementation.

Ivanivska hromada traveled with UST from initial analysis to concrete project documentation for solar power plants. This is an example of how expert support can help a community move from need to plan, and from plan to real investment decisions.

Energy Resilience as Part of Recovery

For Ukraine, the issue of community energy resilience is directly linked to recovery. This is not only about replacing damaged systems or reducing energy bills. It is about building a new quality of local governance, where a community has data, a plan, priorities, and projects ready for implementation.

In wartime conditions, this is also directly connected to the ability to attract international support, which is one of the key resources for community recovery, infrastructure modernization, and the introduction of energy-efficient solutions. At the same time, access to European funds and international programs depends significantly on how prepared a community is to plan its development strategically and offer specific, implementation-ready projects.

“Having a local energy plan with a clear and comprehensible list of measures opens up opportunities for the community to access European funds and national programs financing energy efficiency measures in communities.” Tamara Burenko, UST expert on energy-efficient development of communities and enterprises.

UST views this work as a contribution to the practical recovery of communities: from analytics and strategic planning to technical solutions that can be implemented at specific facilities.

Ivanivska hromada is one example of how this approach works in practice. First came the analysis of energy status and preparation of the plan through 2030. Then came the identification of priority projects. After that came the preparation of documentation for solar power plants at community facilities.

It is precisely this sequence that allows moving from general discussions about resilience to concrete actions that strengthen communities today.