The USAID DOBRE Program promotes not only cooperation between Ukrainian local governments, but also Polish-Ukrainian cooperation. Under this activity, community representatives visit Polish gminas during study visits.
The nineteen communities of the first group from the Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts studied the experience of cities and gminas of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, including energy self-sufficiency, inter-municipal and international cooperation. The event was organized and implemented jointly with the Jerzy Regulski Foundation in Support for Local Democracy (FRDL, Poland) under the USAID DOBRE Program.
How small communities can achieve energy self-sufficiency
The Ochotnica Dolna gmina is one of the small rural communities in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship and is located in its southern part. It has become a kind of experimental ground for testing various energy solutions.The local government leads the green energy cluster, and scientific support is provided by the AGH University of Kraków, the mining and metallurgical academy, one of the best in Poland. A team of experts, advisors, and specialists from various fields, united in the Smart Energy Lab, cooperates with an IT company, 13 local entrepreneurs, and 1,026 prosumers, residents who produce and consume electricity generated by solar panels on their homes.
The energy cluster of Ochotnica Dolna, according to Mr. Tadeusz Królczyk, the wójt (municipal leader), consists of the following elements:
– a 222 kW photovoltaic truss owned by the local government;
– photovoltaic installations on buildings also owned by local governments (150 kW);
– 726 prosumer units with a capacity of 2 kW and 300 with a capacity of 3 kW;
– a 0.5 MW hydroelectric power plant;
– 4 energy storage devices with lithium-ion technology.
The gmina has also already received permission to build a biogas plant.
What is the use of such a cluster in the community? Firstly, according to the wójt, it reduces the cost of electricity and heat. Secondly, the cluster balances energy production and consumption on its territory with the help of modern IT tools, thereby ensuring the energy independence of the entire gmina.
For example, Ukraine’s power system is built in such a way that it is based on four nuclear power plants (one of which is now in the occupied territory), from which electricity is distributed throughout the country. There is a risk that a nuclear power plant halting could shut down the entire system and cause a nationwide blackout.
The energy cluster allows a gmina to produce energy on its territory and thus provide itself with light and heat. Therefore, it would be much more difficult for the enemy to damage Poland’s energy system than Ukraine’s, as it has about 700 hybrid energy sources that form the basis of the country’s energy security. For this reason, according to the wójt, that alternative energy in Ukraine today should play an important role alongside nuclear power plants.
“And yet we can never rely on one energy source to provide us with complete energy security,” says Mr. Tadeusz Królczyk, “That is why our cluster includes several different types.“
Photovoltaic installations are very popular as alternative sources of electricity because they are relatively cheap and can be installed on any building. However, such batteries accumulate energy well only when the sun is shining, so their operation cannot be called stable, especially from November to February. That is why we need a permanent source that will stabilize the local power system. In Ochotnica Dolna, this is a small hydroelectric power plant on a local river, and the project includes the construction of two more. The wójt believes that if Ukraine simplifies its legislation on issuing permits for the construction of such facilities, communities will make much greater use of local hydropower to meet their energy needs.
The gmina also has several energy storage facilities. One of them, built in 2022, is only 20% used for energy storage, as its main task is voltage symmetry. The second energy storage facility is used for voltage stabilization.
“Energy storages are necessary if existing photovoltaic installations produce large surpluses of energy,” says the wójt of Ochotnica Dolna. “Current technologies allow us to produce such storage at affordable prices.”
The local wastewater treatment plant has its own energy storage facility. A photovoltaic truss operates here, and its surplus energy is stored in a 50 kW storage device, which is enough to store about 134 kWh of energy. This electricity is used by the wastewater treatment plant at night when the solar panels are not working. The cost of this energy storage facility at the time of construction was €170,000, 90% of which was covered by the Polish Strategic Investment Fund.
Soon, the energy cluster in the Ochotnica Dolna gmina will be supplemented by a biogas plant at the wastewater treatment plant. After all, biogas is the only fuel whose combustion leads to the removal of greenhouse gasses. That is, it not only reduces CO₂ emissions, but also removes them altogether. The gmina leadership also plans to install a natural-gas-using cogenerator in one of the local schools, producing electricity and heat simultaneously.
It is worth noting that bioenergy clusters are important initiatives in the European Union aimed at cooperation between enterprises, research institutions, authorities, and the public for the joint development of the bioenergy sector. The development of bioenergy in EU countries is aimed at reducing dependence on imported energy sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating a sustainable energy sector. Studies by Ukrainian scientists show that in our country, it is quite promising to create clusters focused on biogas production from waste within territorial communities. This will allow for several potential effects:
– increase the energy independence of the country;
– reduce energy costs for industry;
– improve the ecological state of the environment;
– reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
– provide agricultural producers with organic fertilizers;
– minimize the cost of heat supply;
– create additional jobs;
– solve problems with household waste disposal.
However, the main element of the energy cluster in Ochotnica Dolna that will make it holistic and self-sufficient is the automatic smart energy management that the IT company is currently working on based on the Smart Energy platform. This system will manage each microgrid in the entire cluster without the participation of the premises owner and prevent disruption of the power grid due to any local malfunctions. Thanks to this smart management, it is expected that it will be possible to:
– analyze and optimize energy production and consumption;
– monitor consumption and production;
– manage local energy sources and energy storage facilities;
– make accurate forecasts of consumption and production;
– influence consumer behavior to optimize energy consumption;
– use machine learning algorithms;
– support the management of energy communities.
In order to create an energy cluster in a community, Mr. Tadeusz Królczyk advises first of all to develop a comprehensive strategy. To do this, conduct a full inventory of available resources and opportunities. After all, each community is different in terms of its potential, size, location, availability of energy-intensive facilities, etc.
The overall potential analysis should also include existing industries and their energy production and consumption capacities.
Any energy projects planned in the community should be as efficient as possible. Even the simplest administrative changes can save 10-20% of energy.
It is necessary to develop various options for energy generation sources that will collectively form one sustainable local energy system.
You should not skimp on specialists. For example, solar panels installed with even a slight error in the angle of inclination or rotation to the sun can significantly reduce the planned energy output.
A balance should be struck, including reasonable electricity consumption and more or less equivalent production.
The projects developed must be profitable. After all, investments will come to the clusters over time, and only then will it be possible to think about expansion.
“The case of the energy cluster is extremely relevant for us, as our community is constantly suffering from power outages, as it is only 25 kilometers from Kharkiv,” said Ms. Kateryna Kobets, head of the international relations and projects and investments department of the Merefa City Council. “That is why we have also started developing an energy cluster, which involves two stages. The first is the implementation of energy efficiency measures in all budgetary institutions, and the second is the development of renewable energy sources. Therefore, the experience of Ochotnica Dolna was very useful and interesting, especially in terms of energy storage.”
Inter-municipal cooperation helps to achieve success and development faster
A study of intermunicipal cooperation conducted by the USAID DOBRE Program in Ukraine showed that 65% of the surveyed communities admitted to a lack of knowledge in the field of such cooperation, and another 17% underestimated the possibilities of this tool. That is why it is worth sharing the experience of the Polish gmina of Zator, which invested in its development with a good idea and close cooperation with its neighbors.
The Zator gmina stands out for its interesting location between the Kraków and Silesian agglomerations and the borders with Slovakia and the Czech Republic. There are two rivers – the Skawa and the Vistula – and 1300 ponds protected by the EU Natura 2000 program. Natural wealth and diversity are a significant advantage and a great challenge for the gmina, as both economic development and environmental protection need to be combined.
There is a state-owned enterprise in Zator that is engaged in extensive carp production. It grows about 50 tons of certified organic carp enriched with omega 3 and 6. But Zator started out with no small or medium-sized businesses in the gmina. Residents commuted to work in neighboring gminas and returned home only to spend the night.
Even before joining the EU, Zator decided to find its idea and implement it in the form of a project. And its strategic goals were to be:
– creation of new jobs;
– increase in budget revenues;
– eliminating economic and social inequality in the region;
– improving the quality of life of residents and bringing it to the level of more developed EU regions.
The project of Carp Valley (pol. Dolina Karpia), which initially focused on the development of fish processing, was born in 2003 as a result of practical work during a training course in Kraków by fifteen participants. They came from Zator and two neighboring gminas – Przeciszów and Spytkowice – as part of the Rural Development Program. The joint project of the three municipalities was highly appreciated at the training, as its goal was to create conditions for the development of tourism and recreation in the three bordering gminas.
The developers of the Carp Valley project have defined its initial goals:
– promotion of the Carp Valley project to develop tourism and recreation with a focus on fisheries development;
– creating a brand for a local fish product, carp, which was to become the region’s hallmark;
– Strengthening cooperation between gminas to promote the development of individual municipalities participating in the project on the economic, cultural, tourism, and educational levels;
– attracting potential investors for the development of tourism infrastructure.
The ambitious project could have been put in a drawer and forgotten, like many others, due to lack of funds or other resources. But the municipalities of the three gminas decided to take a chance.
Over the course of one year, the media throughout Poland, as well as foreign magazines, published articles about the new project, describing its benefits. During this time, the gminas developed hiking and cycling routes, as well as a list of investment-attractive sites for entertainment and recreation locations.
The hardest part was convincing local residents that the Carp Valley would be a huge opportunity for the region’s development. Only later were they able to experience these benefits for themselves in person:
– benefits for visiting unique tourist locations;
– Increasing the number of cultural events in their gminas;
– growth in the number of tourists and, consequently, profits.
The fishermen’s associations in all three municipalities were the first to take an interest in the project and open their farms to everyone. They also started to take more care of their appearance: landscaped lake shores, benches and gazebos, fire pits, and asphalt roads have now become the standard on local fishing grounds.
Subsequently, “Zator Days”, a traditional annual celebration, was renamed the “Carp Festival” and a well-known gastronomic program host was invited to the first event to attract participants and spectators. And last year, the festival won first place in the “Great Discovery of Lesser Poland” competition in the “Event of the Year” category. It has become an outstanding artistic and culinary event, a real celebration of traditions and folklore, with carp as the main symbol.
In March 2006, the Carp Valley Association was established, and three other neighboring communes, Brzeźnica, Polanka Wielka, and Osiek, joined the project. The Association’s board includes two representatives from each municipality. The organization has developed a sustainable project strategy and a consistent algorithm of actions. Thus, the Carp Valley project, which has been developing and enriched with new ideas, has clearly defined goals. The fact that neighboring municipalities have joined the project over and over again, as well as the interest of investors, entrepreneurs, and NGOs, have shown its relevance and good prospects.
All municipalities participating in the project have created educational routes with information stands in a single graphic design about the nature and history of the region, and marked about 200 km of local bicycle routes.
Every year, from March to October, the Carp Valley becomes a real Mecca for fishermen from all over Poland, who spend their free time and vacations with their families here. For several years in a row, the Zator Fishing Association has been organizing the Polish Youth Championship, and this year it has also organized the so-called Cyprianiad, where teams from all over Europe compete to catch the largest carp. Restaurants in Zator are serving a new dish – Zator carp.
In 2014, the Carp Valley Environmental Museum was opened. Its mission is to popularize the local natural, cultural and historical heritage.
The work on the local brand culminated in a verbal and graphic sign in the form of a stained glass carp, whose many colors hint at the magic of the fish’s scales and the royal times when all important symbols and meanings were depicted in stained glass windows. In July 2008, the Karp Zatorski brand was included in the list of Polish traditional products, and in May 2011, the name was patented. Another local brand, “The Carp Valley,” is used to label products and services of high quality, guaranteed origin, and environmental friendliness.
The Carp Valley project has given rise to the creation of new tourist locations, including the Jurassic educational park DinoZatorLand, the Mythology Park at the Piast Reservoir, the St. Nicholas in Fairyland park, and the largest amusement park in Poland, Energylandia.
To attract investors, the participating municipalities developed a scale of real estate tax exemption in exchange for the creation of new jobs. For example, for the employment of 5 people, an investor did not pay such a tax for 6 months, and for 80 people – for 5 years.
In 2007, the authorities of Zator established the title of “Honorary Citizen of Zator Land,” which comes with a statue of a carp.
Thus, thanks to a successful idea that did not require a lot of money, but became powerful and non-trivial, and close inter-municipal cooperation with neighbors, the own revenues of the small Zator gmina, with about 10 thousand inhabitants and only 51 square kilometers of land, in 2023 increased to almost 39 million zł per year (approximately $9.4 million).
“According to the feedback from all the participants of the study visits, the cases they saw in Poland were very useful for their communities,” said Mr. Maksym Burdavitsyn, Deputy Chief of Party of the USAID DOBRE Program. “Intermunicipal cooperation is also developing in Ukraine, and relevant laws have been adopted for this purpose, which are constantly being improved. We are always in touch with the Ministry of Infrastructure and provide our proposals based on practical cases to improve this form of cooperation. And the number of intermunicipal cooperation agreements is constantly growing, which indicates that it is gradually gaining momentum. In Poland, these processes started much faster, so today we have something to learn from their experience. The only thing is that we are still very limited in financial resources to establish such partnerships, but despite this, they are already beginning to be formed to effectively address common problems in communities. This year, the USAID DOBRE Program held a competition for intermunicipal cooperation in Ukraine, for which we received about 60 applications. And four winners received funding of about $100 thousand to implement their joint projects.”
International cooperation strengthens community capacity
The Baikovetska community in Ternopil Oblast has been cooperating with the Polish gmina of Wielka Wieś for 5 years. They have a lot in common: approximately the same number of settlements and residents, specific location, and similar problems due to proximity to large cities. Wielka Wieś passes on its experience to Ukrainian partners, shares its recipes for success and provides all possible support.
Wielka Wieś has long been able to take advantage of its proximity to Kraków, which has resulted in the migration of residents from the big city and the creation of new businesses. The gmina has invested a lot of effort in developing sports infrastructure, creating tourist routes and creating a cultural and educational environment, and today it has become a favorite leisure destination for Kraków residents.
It is worth noting that the municipality pays great attention to accessibility. The town hall building is fully adapted to accommodate people with various forms of disabilities: the hearing impaired, visually impaired, and wheelchair users. People work in teams of two in the glass-walled offices, which are always bright and comfortable. One of the rooms is equipped with a mini-video studio, which is where the local government representatives get in touch with their Ukrainian counterparts to discuss various aspects of their cooperation.
Wielka Wieś is proud of its volunteer fire brigades, of which there are nine in the municipality with a total of 300 members. This is a very important resource in the event of a natural disaster or any kind of accident. The teams receive everything they need, from training to new vehicles. The gmina has shared its experience and equipment with its partners from the Baikovetska community.
“Firefighters from the Ukrainian community came to us on a study visit, and our representatives of the volunteer units and the fire service showed them their equipment and told them about cooperation with the community and the municipality,” recalls the wójt of the Wielka Wieś gmina Mr. Krzysztof Wołos. “Later we presented our Baikivtsi colleagues with a new Magirus fire truck.”
The cooperation between the Wielka Wieś gmina and the Baikovetska community began after a working meeting with representatives of the USAID DOBRE Program in April 2019. In the summer, delegations from both sides paid working visits to each other, and in late August, an official international partnership agreement was signed, which provided for
– strengthening friendly and partnership relations between local authorities and residents, and mutual visits;
– exchange of experience and practices in the areas of municipal governance, education and culture, healthcare, sports and tourism, ecology, and cooperation between local governments and NGOs;
– training in strategic planning and implementation of new programs on social issues and institutional development;
– creation of working teams in the gmina and the community on their cooperation;
– training and assistance with machinery, two cars and special equipment to the fire brigade of the Baikovetska community;
– various training sessions, seminars and master classes online.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no official visits for a long time, but partners from Poland and Ukraine constantly organized video conferences to share various experiences, from managing budgetary resources to developing culture and librarianship. Wielka Wieś, as the wójt noted, was also able to adopt useful practices from the Baikovetska community, for example, in the field of school education, local cultural events, and attracting business to its territory.
The Polish partner gmina was the first to contact Baikivtsi on the day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and offered comprehensive assistance, from hosting migrants to sending humanitarian supplies. Baikivtsi village head Mr. Anatolii Kulyk said that his community promptly received critical assistance from the gmina: generators, stabilizers, an off-road vehicle, charging stations, and tons of food and sanitary supplies for IDPs who settled in the community. A powerful industrial generator donated by Wielka Wieś still ensures uninterrupted water supply in the Baikovetska community in case of power outages.
Polish partners regularly host Baikivtsi cultural groups and organize summer camps for children of military personnel from the Ukrainian community. And they continue to intensively exchange experience in various spheres of life.
Mr. Krzysztof Wołos and Mr. Anatolii Kulyk emphasized that it is very important to establish partnerships between communities so that regardless of who leads them in the future, it will continue and develop.
“I hope that this visit will be the start of cooperation between all nineteen participating communities and Polish gminas,” said Ms. Svitlana Spazheva, head of the Pokrovska community in Dnipro Oblast, during the study visit to Wielka Wieś, “I liked how Polish local governments are actively implementing a comprehensive cohesion policy. If the community cannot solve an important issue for the population at its level, it seeks partnerships, involves higher levels, forms structures where all this will work together, and involves, again, private business.”
“It was interesting to see how European legislation is being implemented and how communities work within its framework,” said Mr. Ratan Akhmedov, head of the Koryukivska community in Chernihiv Oblast, “Everywhere the same algorithm of action is followed: first, there must be a clear strategy, operational plans for each area and separate sectoral strategies. And then projects are created directly for their purposes. Only then you can apply for third-party funding.”
In total, this year, USAID DOBRE experts, together with the Jerzy Regulski Foundation in Support for Local Democracy, have developed a comprehensive program of four study visits that will allow Ukrainian communities to learn about the Polish self-government system, municipal approaches to stimulating economic development, and modern solutions in various spheres of life.
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The USAID Program, “Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency” (DOBRE), is a nine-year program, implemented by Global Communities and funded by the United States Agency for International Development. DOBRE has worked closely with 100 consolidated communities (CCs) in ten Oblasts of Ukraine to help them realize the benefits and meet the challenges brought by decentralization. DOBRE provides technical and material assistance to CCs to help them govern openly and accountably and meet the needs of their citizens; and supports citizens’ active engagement in decision-making and policy making. DOBRE’s support encompasses strategic planning; spatial planning; financial management; public service delivery; local economic development; capacity building; good governance practices; and gender- and youth-responsive policies.
In the period 2022 – 2025, DOBRE will be working directly with at least 60 CCs of Ukraine to help them cope with the consequences of the war, recover and rebuild, and resume their trajectory of positive, sustainable development. Partners with Global Communities in the DOBRE Program Consortium include the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center; the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy, and the Malopolska School of Public Administration at the Krakow University of Economics, Poland.