Problems and Prospects of Distributed Generation in Ukraine

23.04.2025

Energy Club Vice President Ivan Grygoruk was a guest on the YouTube channel KSPA Media, where in a conversation with Olga Babiy, he discussed pressing issues related to the construction and integration of distributed generation facilities, particularly cogeneration plants, in Ukrainian cities.

In the interview, Ivan Grygoruk revealed the main reasons why cities cannot massively and quickly connect cogeneration units, including those received from international donors. The key problems identified were:

• Shortage of qualified personnel: a lack of engineers and specialists on the ground capable of calculating the operating modes of equipment in the power system and integrating it into existing networks.
• Equipment mismatch: some of the provided units do not always meet the actual needs and conditions of specific communities.
• Network unpreparedness: existing electricity and gas networks are often technically unprepared for the connection of new generating capacities and operation in new modes, particularly in isolated mode for a dedicated load (“island mode”).
• Bureaucratic and financial obstacles: the complexity of implementing and approving technical measures for connecting electrical installations to the networks, given the numerous damages or destruction of energy infrastructure facilities as a result of enemy shelling, the high cost of related works, and problems with obtaining financing for municipal enterprises.
• Challenges of operating in the electricity market: difficulties for communities in organizing the effective sale of generated electricity due to a lack of experience, specialists, and the high risks of operating in all segments of the electricity market.

At the same time, Ivan Grygoruk emphasized the emergence and importance of developing municipal energy and the potential economic benefits for communities from the proper use of cogeneration plants in resolving the issue of commercial heat utilization, particularly for reducing the burden on tariffs.

At the end of the conversation, the Vice President of Energy Club gave key advice on the effective implementation of energy equipment from donors by 2026, emphasizing the need for proper formation of community needs, mandatory cooperation with balancing groups and aggregators, grid modernization, and the important role of introducing dispatchable rotating generating capacity to ensure the inertia, flexibility, and reliability of the integrated power system of Ukraine.

For more details on the problems and prospects of distributed generation in Ukraine, watch the full interview recording on the KSPA Media channel.