In the future, the energy map of Ukraine will be changed. Instead of 20 large power plants, a network of 100-200 smaller power plants distributed throughout the country will appear. This transformation will be carried out with the help of gas plants, biofuel thermal plants and energy storage systems.
Volodymyr Kudrytsky, Chairman of the Board of PJSC “NPC “Ukrenergo”, spoke about this transition. According to him, new distributed generation projects are already being actively developed. The main attention is paid to projects for the installation of energy storage systems, which are standard for developed countries such as Europe, the USA and Japan. These changes involve the complete or almost complete replacement of existing thermal generating capacities.
However, the transition does not involve simply replacing one type of energy with another. Instead, it is planned to create a network that will include a variety of energy sources, such as industrial wind turbines, solar panels and gas plants. For example, instead of one large thermal power plant with a capacity of 1000 MW, 100 small plants of 10 MW each will be deployed. This will change the structure of the energy market and the architecture of the power system.
As for nuclear power, it will remain the basis of Ukrainian generation, but at the same time, renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power plants, will be actively developed. According to Kudrytsky, these sources are more economically advantageous compared to other sources.
The transition to decentralized generation has another important aspect - increasing the country's energy security. According to Kudrytsky, an increase in the number of small power plants of various types makes the system less vulnerable to possible threats.
Over the past two years, Ukrenergo has approved technical conditions for connecting 1.2 GW of storage facilities, which indicates a great interest of private investors in this sector. Kudrytsky is confident that we will see the first system this year, since the commissioning of storage systems requires much less time compared to other energy sources.
In the meantime, Ukrenergo specialists are focusing on ensuring the reliability of power supply to nuclear plants, as confirmed by the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Despite temporary difficulties, the energy system is operating at maximum capacity, and specialists are doing everything possible to restore normal power supply.
