European focus on Ukraine’s wind power: Austrian delegation studies Zakarpattia’s model of energy resilience

Ukraine’s wind energy projects — despite wartime conditions and sustained pressure on the national energy infrastructure — remain a subject of strong interest among European partners. Today, they are viewed as symbols of technological, economic and governance resilience. As a result, foreign delegations are increasingly travelling to Ukraine to learn from its experience in developing renewable energy during wartime.

This week, representatives from Austria visited the first wind farm in Zakarpattia, located in the Nyzhni Vorota community and operated by Wind Parks of Ukraine LLC. Their visit demonstrates that international experts now see Ukrainian renewable energy solutions as models that could benefit other European countries.

During the visit, Helmut Mall, Mayor of St. Anton am Arlberg (Tyrol, Austria), emphasised that Zakarpattia’s example confirms the effectiveness of Ukraine’s chosen model for renewable energy development. According to him, cooperation between investors and local communities produces measurable improvements in people’s quality of life.

“Here in Zakarpattia, we see renewable energy actually working and driving community development. It’s a win-win: the company generates electricity, while communities receive funding for roads, schools and social initiatives,” — he said.

Mall also stressed that the strategic importance of renewable energy only increases in wartime, making decentralised generation not just a matter of development but also of national security:

“Every day we witness Russia targeting Ukraine’s power stations. That is why I believe wind generation is a safe energy source for the country. These are state-of-the-art turbines here in Zakarpattia, and I am pleased to see a private company