By KYIV. Nov 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine needs to implement a number of projects in the next five or 10 years to increase the capacity and flexibility of the energy system, the volume of investments in which will be about $15 billion, Board Chairman of NPC Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky has said.
“There will be countless more winters to go through. And our crazy neighbor isn’t going anywhere. Therefore, we need to think not only about this winter, but also about the future. Therefore, we, as the system operator, have a calculated vision of what the optimal energy mix of our country for five-seven-ten years, what we must build to protect our facilities from heavy shelling, and also to make the energy mix cheaper and cleaner. There is a certain investment menu,” Kudrytsky said at a briefing at the Media Center in Kyiv on Friday.
According to him, the best protection for Ukrainian generation is the dispersal of facilities, as well as their construction using new technologies and principles of the green transition, without the use of expensive fuels such as gas and coal.
According to the presentation he gave, Ukraine in the coming years will require 1.4 GW of new highly maneuverable thermal power plants (currently 0 GW), as well as 1.1 GW of biofuel thermal power plants (currently 0.3 GW). In addition, 3.8 GW of solar power plants (currently 6.2 GW), 4.5 GW of wind power plants (currently 0.5 GW) and 0.8 GW of Energy Storage (currently 0 GW) should be added. At the same time, 2 GW of capacity should be built at the Dniester and Kaniv PSPPs (currently 2 GW).
According to rough estimates, this will require $15 billion, of which the most can be invested in wind farms – $5.4 billion. Solar power plants will cost $2.5 billion, thermal power plants (both types) – $2.3 billion, self-sustaining energy systems – $1.2 billion, pumped storage power plants – $3.7 billion.
During the briefing, he added that additional capacity of the nuclear power plant will also be required, expressing, among other things, hope for the return of the Zaporizhia NPP, occupied by the Russians.
“There are reserves for increasing output at existing nuclear power plants, plans to build new units. They are long-term, but nuclear power will be in demand, especially when coal-fired thermal power plants are removed from the balance sheet,” Kudrytsky said.
He said that Ukrenergo carried out calculations using specialized software to get a vision “of how to build a system that would be ready at any time to satisfy consumer demand and be the cheapest of all such systems.”
At the same time, the head of the company said that Ukraine should also count on private investment.
“But we need an appropriate market environment, to ensure three conditions: the absence of debt in the market, primarily balancing and system services, the possibility of concluding long-term contracts for ancillary services, so that the investor understands that he has a guaranteed income, and also to synchronize 100% market conditions with European ones,” Kudrytsky said, describing the situation.
According to him, then Ukraine will have huge competitive advantages.
“Because we are ready to build our power plants faster, perhaps somewhat cheaper, and there will be prerequisites to become a big magnet for investment in the energy sector,” he said.
