21.11.2024
An expert discussion was held on the topic: “Energy Sustainability of Communities – Local Resources and Opportunities”. The event was organized by the Energy Club community in partnership with the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine.
The event was held in an online format. It was attended by people’s deputies, experts, representatives of relevant departments, government and local authorities, local self-government and municipal enterprises. In addition, representatives of about 100 communities from across the country took part in the event.
Among the key points of discussion:
The moderator of the meeting, Energy Club Vice President Valeriy Bezus noted that this is the first event dedicated to energy sustainability and the development of energy capabilities of communities, which was held in partnership between Energy Club and the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development. However, in the future, this topic will be considered in detail in subsequent joint events, since Ukrainian communities have great potential for the development of their own energy base, and the full and high-quality implementation of this potential is of particular importance in the context of Russian terrorist aggression.
Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Mykola Kolisnyk noted that the issue of distributed generation is currently one of the key ones. A positive signal, according to the Deputy Minister, is the high market demand for distributed generation projects. In particular, projects are being created locally to install cogeneration units for enterprises and their own business processes. However, feedback from communities on the issues of developing distributed generation at the local level is important.
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that business is investing. But the one that covers the needs of its own operational development. For example, agribusiness, which has its own resources for generation. Therefore, there is a clear economy in this issue. What we are currently facing is a change in the balance zones regarding demand and supply. We have significant capacities in the eastern region, but there is no such demand anymore. And the situation in the western region is completely different. The issue is also to balance the operation of energy systems – both electric and gas,” the deputy minister noted.
Mykola Kolisnyk also revealed during the discussion the issues of preparing energy passports for communities and regions.
People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleksiy Kucherenko believes that currently distributed generation is an issue for several levels of professional discussion.
“I have the impression that this winter, unfortunately, such generation will not have time to save us. Although, those enterprises that have managed to install, for example, cogeneration plants, will have heat and water. It depends on local authorities and enterprise managers. Because only powerful and stable enterprises will be able to implement distributed generation projects. Unfortunately, I see that some mayors and heads of enterprises are only now raising the issue at headquarters that there are problems with the installation of distributed generation,” the MP noted.
Also, Oleksiy Kucherenko drew attention to the fact that one of the key issues remains the problem of staffing.
The MP also did not ignore the fact that a full-fledged financial and economic model is unclear, as well as the issue of high-quality dispatching of the work of distributed generation. The topic of debts also remains painful for the industry.
Deputy Director of the Department of Public Utilities – Head of the Heat Supply Department of the Ministry of Community and Territories Development of Ukraine Andriy Vedmid drew attention to the fact that currently the issue of distributed generation is somewhat new for the state and communities, so discussions are ongoing between the relevant ministries, departments and the Verkhovna Rada.
“Of course, large generation was given more priority. I understand that powerful shunting generation is easier to manage than small-scale generation. However, the beginning of the war showed that this could be a certain safeguard against outages of centralized power supply. Because no matter how much heat you produce, it is impossible to supply it in the absence of electricity. Almost everything stops. Therefore, having electricity at least for your own needs is very good,” Andriy Vedmid emphasized.
The representative of the Ministry of Development also noted that there are currently certain concerns about attacks on critical infrastructure from the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is necessary to fully regulate the sphere of distributed generation and plan its further development in a qualitative manner.
Expert on heat supply and coordination of restoration projects of the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Pavlo KraPyvnytskyi drew attention to the importance of quality communication and cooperation between communities with each other, as well as with international partners. In addition, communities should take a balanced approach to their needs and develop appropriate local energy supply plans.
The mayor of Dolyna, in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast,Ivan Dyriv shared his experience in implementing distributed generation in the city. According to him, the city has introduced the concept of a cellular power grid, which will allow the community to function as a separate unit in the unified energy system. The mayor also emphasized the importance of strategic planning at the community level, including the quality development of local energy plans.
The event was also attended by business representatives. Deputy CEO of Ligret Volodymyr Gromko noted that currently there is a high demand for the installation of cogeneration units in Ukraine. However, the company faces the problem of economically reserving its employees.
In addition, according to the company representative, the energy sustainability of communities requires funding from the state. Therefore, government decisions should be aimed at financial support for the industry.
CEO of Volten Olexandr Suslov emphasized that currently a common problem is the lack of coordinated work of authorities regarding the installation of energy equipment, as well as regulated requirements and areas of responsibility. He also called on communities to unite and jointly implement distributed generation projects.
