Renewable energy sources as an economic factor of sustainable development

The article examines renewable energy sources (RES) as a core economic driver of energy security and sustainable development worldwide and within Ukraine's post-war recovery. Conceptually, RES underpin the dual objective of decarbonization and resilience: they mitigate exposure to fossil-fuel price volatility and import dependence, while enabling steady progress toward climate targets aligned with the Paris Agreement and SDG7. Drawing on recent global dynamics (2020–2024), the study outlines how rapid cost declines and scale effects have made solar PV and onshore wind the least-cost options for new generation in many markets, catalyzing record investment flows and industrial spillovers. The economic case for RES is detailed along three dimensions. First, levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) for leading technologies have fallen sharply over the past decade due to learning curves, supply-chain maturation, and competitive procurement; this cost advantage increasingly persists even without legacy feed-in tariffs. Second, capital formation in RES-related value chains stimulates local manufacturing, services, and innovation ecosystems, supporting export potential in components, engineering, and digital grid solutions. Third, employment effects are broad-based: job creation spans project development, equipment production, construction, operations, and maintenance, with additional gains in training and research capacities. At the same time, the paper systematizes binding constraints that slow RES deployment. Financing barriers remain acute in higher-risk jurisdictions where the cost of capital erodes project economics; blended-finance instruments and credit enhancements are therefore pivotal. Grid integration challenges arise from the variability of wind and solar: adequate system flexibility requires targeted investment in transmission reinforcement, energy storage, demand-side response, and digitalization to maintain reliability as RES shares increase. Regulatory and permitting frictions—lengthy land-use procedures, queue backlogs for grid connection, and policy instability—can materially delay commissioning and raise costs. For Ukraine, RES expansion intersects with security and reconstruction goals. The decentralization of generation—through distributed PV, wind clusters in safer regions, bioenergy, and hybrid systems with storage—reduces vulnerability to concentrated infrastructure and supports community-level resilience. Priority measures include (i) improving investment security via auctions with bankable offtake, guarantees, and war-risk coverage; (ii) modernizing grids to remove connection bottlenecks and enable flexibility services; and (iii) completing regulatory alignment with the EU to streamline permitting, implement guarantees of origin, and integrate with regional power markets. Taken together, these steps can unlock RES as a cornerstone of Ukraine's sustainable, low-carbon, and competitive recovery.