KYIV — By relentlessly attacking Ukraine’s power sector for the past two years with missiles and drones, Russian President Vladimir Putin has inadvertently accelerated the country’s shift to greener energy options.
The plan is to switch from large smoke-belching thermal power facilities — Ukraine has nine of those, which provide electricity to much of the country — to a mix of renewable energy like wind and solar, battery storage and biofuel installations.At the same time, officials say, there will be a vast network of smaller gas-fired turbines spread around the country, producing just enough electricity to power a small town or city district, that are also less vulnerable to attack.
Ultimately, there could be thousands of these units around the country. Together with the wind and solar farms, they would make it much harder for Russian missiles to target the energy system.
“So the approach is different, is very sort of bottom up, identifying those few investors who are willing to commit equity,” he said. “That predominantly means the Ukrainian investors because, for them, the perception of risk is very different.” Timchenko said he fully supports turning Ukraine into clean-energy paradise, and experts say DTEK will more than likely play a role in the project. However, international institutions are hesitant to provide financing to the company because it is owned byIt will also be difficult to come up with an efficient system to regulate a decentralized grid for the whole of Ukraine — a country roughly the size of Texas — while assuring investors that they will see a steady revenue stream.