Gdańsk, June 24
On the eve of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Greenpeace appeals to the Polish government and European leaders to learn from the war in Ukraine. A crisis-resistant system based on renewable, distributed energy sources must become the foundation of energy security.
The future of energy in Ukraine and Europe will be one of the most important topics of the Gdańsk conference, which is why Greenpeace has decided to present recommendations on how to build lasting energy security at this symbolic place for peace in Europe, where World War II started, at the Westerplatte monument. The basis for these recommendations is the report “Distributed Energy is Harder to Hit. An Energy System with Thousands of Small Sources as an Element of the Polish Raison d’état. Lessons from the Experience of Ukraine,” prepared by Greenpeace Poland in cooperation with Greenpeace Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has systematically attacked the Ukrainian energy sector. Ukraine has already lost approximately 90 percent of its large conventional power plants. Their reconstruction takes months or years and requires enormous financial resources.
At the same time, the war saw a boom in distributed energy. Photovoltaic installations, energy storage facilities, local power sources, and microgrids for hospitals, waterworks, and households are being built. By 2025, Ukraine added approximately 1.5 GW of new photovoltaic capacity, and by early 2026, its total capacity reached approximately 8.6 GW. This is more than before the war began.
“We see from our own experience that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is not just about mitigating the climate crisis or reducing pollution. The war in Ukraine has shown that a decentralized energy system based on renewables is essential for the country’s resilience. But I am confident that this example is also important for other European countries. Europe’s energy system must be reliable, secure, and modern—and therefore based on renewable sources,” noted Marine Abramian, campaigner at Greenpeace Ukraine.
“Gdańsk was chosen as the conference venue so that we would remember history and learn from it. Are we better prepared for the threat from Russia today? Poland and Europe are spending billions of Euros on new, large gas-fired power plants, which are just as easily destroyed as old coal-fired power plants. The security of Poland and Europe requires distributed renewable energy sources, storage facilities, and local power systems, not the old thinking about renuable energy giants,” said Anna Meres, climate campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Poland and author of the report.
Greenpeace identifies four key actions that the governments should take:
1. Changing the definition of energy security
It is essential to understand security as resilience. Real energy security means the ability to ensure a continuous power supply to hospitals, water stations, and other critical infrastructure facilities in a crisis situation. It also requires the ability to quickly restore supplies after a potential attack or outage.
2. A European, intergovernmental team analyzing the energy situation in Ukraine
The governments of Europe should establish teams that will translate wartime experience into decisions regarding energy investments, infrastructure protection, and how to reduce the risk of system paralysis.
3. Reviewing planned investments also for resilience
When planning power plants, terminals, and grids, it is important to assess how many customers will lose power if they are damaged, how long repairs will take, and what resources will be required for protection and reconstruction.
4. More local energy sources, storage facilities, and microgrids
Hospitals, waterworks, wastewater treatment plants, and crisis management centers should have their own energy sources and the ability to operate independently of the national grid.
“The most important lesson from Ukraine is that distributed energy is not just a solution for peacetime, but one of the pillars of a country’s resilience in times of war. Despite Russian attacks, Ukraine is rapidly developing photovoltaics and local power systems because they can be built cheaply, closer to consumers, and easily rebuilt after damage. Poland and Europe should move away from a model based on large power plants and treat the development of renewable energy as an investment in the country’s security”, added Anna Meres.
Summary:
Greenpeace decided to present its demands in a historical setting to emphasize the importance of the topic – the energy transition in Poland and Europe cannot be dictated by companies operating on conventional, easily destroyed behemoths. Companies now want to build large gas-fired units using imported fuel. Meanwhile, distributed, renewable energy sources create a resilient system that can be easily, cost-effectively, and quickly restored in crises. Only such a system is also capable of so-called island operation and is capable of ensuring a secure energy supply for hospitals, waterworks, and other critical infrastructure.
