Kiev eyes alternative energy program

KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Kiev is looking to expand its green energy portfolio as the country's energy company pays more than $700 million for August gas consumption, companies say.

National energy company Naftogaz met its monthly payment deadline to Russian energy monopoly Gazprom by paying $711 million for the natural gas it imported in August, the National News Agency of Ukraine reports.

The Ukrainian economy was hammered by the global economic recession, leaving Naftogaz struggling to pay its monthly gas bill.

Ukrainian companies working on alternative energy told the news agency, meanwhile, that green energy could provide up to 4 percent of the country's energy needs by 2015.

Companies working on alternative energy programs in Ukraine are exempt from paying taxes on their profits through 2020 under the terms of a measure enacted in January.

The solar market in Ukraine grew by 30 percent during the first half of the year and there are more than 1,000 wind plants set up in the country. There are 48 small-scale hydroelectric stations in the country, though half of them are in need of repair.