KACHARAGADLA

Ukraine is trumpeting offers of breaks on tax and duties to lure foreign investors in renewable energy as it pushes to reduce dependence on Russian gas. The government in Kiev wants 11 percent of Ukraine’s power to come from renewable resources, mainly biomass, by 2020, Deputy Economic Development Minister Yuliya Kovaliv said in a speech in Berlin on Oct. 23. Ukraine needs foreign investors to help it reach its target in a market worth about 16 billion euros ($18 billion), she said. Foreign direct investment in the country is recovering, rising to $904 million in the second quarter from $352 million in the first, according to the National Bank of Ukraine. That compares with a net outflow in the first half of 2014 as the conflict with Russia escalated. Ukraine’s ambitious target for renewable energy reflects the need to cut Ukraine’s dependency on Russian gas for heat and power, Kovaliv said in an interview. “We must press forward, developing those resources