Wind is the Way Forward for Lviv

The Ukraine is to take a step forward in becoming more energy self-sufficient with the announcement that 10 wind farms are to be built in the Lviv region.

The country, like so many Eastern European states, has been virtually held to ransom in the past by Moscow for its reliance on piped gas supplies from Russia. At times Kremlin bosses have pulled the plug on the county's supplies exposing how fragile it is for natural resources and how dependent it is on Russia's oil and gas reserves.

Now an Austrian firm, PSI, is to build 10 wind farms on the Carpathian hills in the Lviv region, which together will provide the region with a sizable dose of its electrical energy consumption. Energy produced by wind-powered facilities is also cheaper and more environmentally friendly as well.

While the wind farms alone can't replace the need for resources to be piped from Russia, they hopefully will at least give the the country a sense of energy independence from its mighty neighbour.