Ukraine needs to explore the possibility of building five or six new environmentally friendly coal units, Donbasenergo Commercial Director Oleh Larionov has said.
According to him, given the need for the country to fulfill the National Emission Reduction Plan for large combustion plants, thermal generating companies will not be able to maintain in operation about 12 GW of the required capacities at TPPs to cover peak and semi-peak loads in order to balance the operation of the power system.
“In the next ten years, Ukraine will experience the need to operate about 12 GW of coal-fired mobile generation, over the next ten years it will need at least 5-7 GW. Before we can completely abandon coal generation, and this is the prospect of 25-30 years, our country will need at least 3-3.5 GW of maneuverable capacities. The new built units will ensure a smooth transition of Ukraine to the era of decarbonization,” he said during an online discussion hosted by the Energy Club.
According to Larionov, the construction of new units should be carried out at the expense of foreign investments, taking into account the interests of local business. This will contribute to the creation of new jobs and the development of regional infrastructure.
In addition, he considers it necessary to explore the possibility of eco-modernization of the thermal generation units operating today only if there is confidence that the modernized unit will be able to operate for at least another 15 years.
The Donbasenergo Commercial Director also said that the documents on the consideration of the implementation of the Emission Reduction Plan have already been submitted to the NSDC for the purpose of making a final decision in the event of a conflict of interests between the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
