Prospects for cross-border cooperation of territorial communities of Zakarpattia in the field of sustainable energy supply

Abstract

In the context of the war, which has caused large-scale and systemic destruction of the energy infrastructure and significantly undermined the state’s ability to ensure stable and uninterrupted energy supply, there has arisen a need to revise the existing territorial energy provision systems due to the vulnerability of centralized infrastructure to physical and cyberattacks, as well as the necessity to secure a resilient, decentralized and autonomous operation of critical facilities and households. The purpose of this article is to examine the available potential and substantiate the prospects for cross-border cooperation of Transcarpathian territorial communities in the field of sustainable energy supply. The study reveals the existing potential of Transcarpathian in the sphere of sustainable energy, which is currently utilized at a very low level. It is well established that overcoming institutional, social, and infrastructural barriers to its full development requires strengthening cross-border cooperation both within existing programs and through new cross-border initiatives. One promising direction for an effective transition to sustainable energy supply in cross-border territories and communities is the creation of cross-border sustainable energy clusters, which would help mobilize investments, enhance coordination among government bodies, research institutions, and businesses, and reduce social tensions by involving communities in project planning and monitoring. An organizational model for cluster formation is proposed, representing an integrated multi-level system aimed at consolidating institutions, resources, and technologies of border regions to build a common energy space. Existing constraints to the model’s implementation under current conditions and possible ways to overcome them have been systematized. Keywords: sustainable energy supply, innovative sustainable energy clusters, renewable energy sources, territorial communities, cross-border cooperation.