Reform of the energy system: how can Ukraine ensure uninterrupted electricity supply?

Due to the constant heavy bombardment of Russia’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine has to carry out energy system reforms at an accelerated pace. First of all, the energy legacy of the USSR needs to be decentralized. There has clearly been a shift towards green energy: most of the new capacities belong to so-called energy. Environmentally friendly. Journalist-observer Denis Staji writes about it.

As noted, the Soviet system was extremely centralized, where there were risks even before the start of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation. After the next bombardment, a stable source of energy is maintained only in areas where there are small private power plants – wind, solar, biogas. The new principle of building the Ukrainian energy sector should be exactly this: many small power plants close to consumers and combined in a common decentralized network.

Now farms are trying to switch to new – renewable and cheap – energy sources. They use boilers that work with wood, sawdust and straw. These systems should not be considered outdated – on the contrary, they are the most innovative. In particular, the director of a Ukrainian company that produces and installs solid fuel boilers spoke about this last year. One of the schools uses them.

“It’s a megawatt, a local farmer takes care of him. He gives hay, he serves him, the government pays him by the meter. The effect is incredible: the school is big, in the winter the kids train in shorts in the gym, the school principal sometimes calls out to the farmer: turn the stove down, it’s warm.” ‘ said the manager.

According to him, this school pays much less heat than others. He noted that it is unfair to say that “hay heating is the stone age”. Today there are 17,000 straw fired boilers in Denmark. Copenhagen is heated by a straw-fired power plant. Such a boiler owned by the school can heat 4,500 square meters.

Mikhail Bernatsky, the founder of Rost Agro LLC in the Poltava region, also said that when choosing boilers for alternative heating, attention should be paid to those without a heat exchanger. He believes that it is most convenient to use raw materials such as sawdust, granules and pellets.

It is already well understood by the authorities that our country produces a large amount of organic matter, which can become an excellent source of energy. On July 17, 2022, First Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said: “Agriculture is a source of raw materials for the production of various types of biofuels, from biomethane to solid biofuels. Together with the Ministry of Finance and other departments, we have supported the development of bioethanol. As well as technical and food alcohols Draft Law No. 7401, which also allows for more active production of bioethanol, has been passed. There can be both crops grown directly in the field and animal and crop wastes.”

In other words, increasing fuel oil production from agricultural raw materials seems to be one of the priorities of the Ministry. What was previously considered industrial waste and not used can now become a way to create additional added value.

The cultivation of energy crops, namely wood raw materials for the production of sawdust, pellets and firewood, also appears to be a promising area. In Ukraine, such plants can be willow, hazel, mountain ash, poplar and willow, and wood can be harvested every 4-7 years.

An alternative way is to grow herbaceous crops, which can also be processed as fuel. These are miscanthus, rod-shaped millet, thistle and mullein. In addition, energy farms will improve the soil, which will increase the value of the land. For this purpose, industrial hemp production is also possible.

“Energy decarbonisation and green transformation plans remain valid. The war has made these challenges even more urgent,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmigal.

The politician believes that the Russian attacks forced the country to quickly establish a decentralized energy system that would not be so vulnerable to bombardment.

Ukraine has the greatest potential for the development of renewable energy among the countries of Central and Southeast Europe. Janez Kopacz, former head of the Energy Community Secretariat, believes Ukraine is the European Saudi Arabia of renewable resources. After the victory, we will have the opportunity to establish the most modern and ecological energy system in the world.

Previously Focus understood how “green” energy survived the war. Renewable energy sources (RES) is the trend of the last decade. In recent years, such stations have been actively built in Ukraine, thanks to investments and a special “green tariff”.

Recall that according to the Ministry of Energy, Ukraine lost almost all of its green energy due to a large-scale Russian invasion.