Recently, Maddalena Curioni and Caroline Simon, employees of the organization "Electricians without borders", with which the Charitable organization "Charity Fund "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" is implementing the PHENIX project, aimed at strengthening the sustainability of Ukraine's energy future, have been on a working visit to Ukraine.

Specialists from France held a working meeting with Nataliya Kabatsiy, director of CAMZ, with whom they discussed the steps of the project, its social and infrastructural importance for the region of implementation. According to the French partners, the PHENIX project seeks to improve basic services in Ukraine through sustainable energy solutions. The team focuses on healthcare facilities, schools, and small agricultural enterprises in communities. The pilot phase of the project started in Zakarpattia, and in the future it is planned to include two more regions in the west of the country, which will be determined by the end of 2025. 

During the visit, a meeting was held with the leadership of the Zakarpattia Regional Council – First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Council Andriy Sheketa and Deputy Chairman Vasyl Demyanchuk. The discussion focused on the prospects for cooperation at the local level, support for energy independence measures for medical and social institutions, and an open dialogue with the authorities to assist in the implementation of important infrastructure initiatives. In addition, it was emphasized that within the framework of another project "Hybrid Solutions", in which the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya and "Electricians without borders" are also involved, nine hybrid solar power plants are already operating in medical and social institutions in Zakarpattia. 

In the Zakarpattia region, PHENIX’s direct activities are localized in the village of Nyzhnye Selyshche, Khust district. There, a school, a cheese factory, a cannery, a kindergarten, and an outpatient clinic will receive special energy efficiency support. The project also aims to raise environmental awareness among the population, in particular by establishing an eco-hub, where technological solutions will be substantiated and incorporated into environmentally mature decisions of local residents. This area is especially relevant for Zakarpattia, as the region has a great resource for green tourism development and at the same time requires joint efforts to protect and preserve nature.

During the visit to Khust district, the team of CAMZ and "Electricians without borders" met with the acting mayor of Khust, Vasyl Hubal, to discuss the prospects for implementing energy-saving projects in the community. The activities continued in Nyzhnye Selyshche.

"We visited a local school and kindergarten, which is located in the same building as the outpatient clinic, and two more agricultural facilities – a cannery employing internally displaced persons and a cheese factory. These are the facilities included in the PHENIX pilot project in Zakarpattia. It has been determined that the hybrid solar power plant will be installed at the school, while the kindergarten and outpatient clinic will undergo an energy analysis of the building and, most likely, install a heating system. In return, the project’s agricultural sector will be equipped with agro-photovoltaic stations that allow for the rational use of land – generating solar electricity and simultaneously growing crops, harvesting hay, etc. By the way, the station near the cheese factory will also provide electricity for the future public space "House of Civic Initiatives", which is being prepared for opening in Nyzhnye Selyshche by the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya", said Nataliya Kabatsiy. 

The director of CAMZ added that during a meeting with representatives of the NGO "Transcarpathian Association of Local Development", the participants discussed the format and content of the project’s educational component and agreed to involve students from a local vocational school that trains future electricians. 

After Zakarpattia, Nataliya Kabatsiy, Maddalena Curioni and Caroline Simon held a series of meetings in Kyiv. In particular, a working meeting was held with the AFD Group’s representative office in Ukraine and the humanitarian officer of the French Embassy. In addition, contacts with potential project participants from among sectoral public institutions that deal with sustainable energy solutions in different regions have significantly deepened.

The PHENIX project is being implemented jointly by "Electricians without borders" and the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya in partnership with the NGO "Transcarpathian Association of Local Development" with financial support from the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD).