NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine has refused to implement the UAH 1 billion project to build the first powerful biofuel CHP in Lviv that was launched when Yuri Vitrenko was in charge of the company, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovoy said.
“Unfortunately, we have not found the support of “Naftogaz” in the implementation of this project, so now the process is suspended. We are directing all our energy, in particular, to the construction of a waste recycling plant,” he told Energoreform correspondent on the sidelines of the high-level meeting “Agreement of Mayors in Ukraine: Planning Sustainable Development Together” in Lviv on Wednesday.
At the same time, Sadovy noted that no money was allocated from the city budget for the CHP construction project. “It was an initiative of the former head of Naftogaz (Yuriy Vitrenko – ER), but today the management of the company has a different opinion regarding such projects in Ukraine,” the Lviv mayor explained.
At the same time, he pointed out that among other things there is a waste composting station in Lviv, and other eco-projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions are implemented.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, in September 2022, the Naftogaz of Ukraine jointly with the Lviv City Council launched a project to construct a combined heat and power plant on wood chips, which was planned to be put into operation by February 2023.
As Vitrenko said then, the cost of the project for the company will cost approximately UAH 1 billion.
Sadovaya, in turn, noted that for the city it will be the first powerful CHP plant on alternative fuel, which will cover about a quarter of its needs in heat. “We have planned such a project with the EBRD for a long time, but according to their classical procedures we could start it only next year. But Russian aggression has so activated the thought process that we came to agreements with Naftogaz,” he explained.
Similar projects were planned in other cities: under Vitrenko, Naftogaz announced its intention to build at least nine combined heat and power plants in eight regions of Ukraine with a total capacity of 250 MW of thermal energy and 52 MW of electrical energy.
According to Sadovyy, the construction of a waste processing plant in Lviv is planned to be completed by the end of this year. The works are 25% completed.
“Covenant of Mayors in Ukraine: planning sustainable development together” is the biggest movement in the world concerning climate and energy, which started in the European Union in 2008. Now the initiative unites 11 thousand local and regional authorities in 55 countries of the world. For today almost 300 Ukrainian communities have joined the climate movement. They have developed 180 action plans aimed at solving energy and climate problems. Signatories of the agreement in Ukraine have pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 25 million tons per year.
