As it continues to fight Russian aggression on its soil, Ukraine's largest private energy investor DTEK says it is in discussions with renewables developers to restart construction of various solar and wind power plants in the country since decentralizing energy sources are 'harder to target and destroy versus a TPP'.
In an online briefing on January 25, 2023, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said Russia is now focusing on 'completely destroying' Ukraine's power units, making it impossible to restore electricity supply with equipment from western partners quickly.
"From mid-term and long-term perspectives, increasing RES is the best model for the Ukrainian energy sector to 'build back greener', as endorsed by US Senator John Kerry in Davos. Not only because it achieves decarbonization targets but because decentralizing energy sources are harder to target and destroy versus a TPP (thermal power plant)," stated Timchenko.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, along with loss of life, the country has been facing power shortages with an average of 6 million not having access to daily electricity supply. It counts a significant power deficit of approximately 1.5 GW at night and up to 4.5 GW during the day.
DTEK called out the lack of investment resources to fund restoration of energy facilities and to create new renewables capacities for the private sector. International funding is limited to the federal government which is then distributed among state companies.
However, Ukraine's private sector companies in the field of energy are at a 'breaking point'. "Private business will play the key part in the restoration process. But DTEK gets a small amount of high-voltage equipment through the distribution of the Ministry of Energy, and its volume is not sufficient to meet all our needs," added DTEK CEO.
Its reserves of coal and gas at present, in the face of damage of electricity facilities, are not enough to supply power 24×7.
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) held earlier in January 2023, DTEK presented the 30 by 2030 initiative to have 30 GW renewable energy capacity in Ukraine by 2030 as a post-war rebuilding plan calling it a main driving force for the development of the Ukrainian economy.
This capacity translates into Ukraine attempting to reach 50% of renewables share in its capacity mix, out of which 15 GW of clean energy could be exported to the EU in electricity and green hydrogen. Timchenko called for support from international companies in the mission.
"Any restoration and recovery process in Ukraine's energy must have a European perspective and should be based on new green power generation, accelerating energy transition across the EU," Timchenko stated in Davos. "We have no doubt that Ukraine can become a significant leader in the decarbonization of Europe's energy."
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