Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

is mainly from gas and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

, followed by

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

and oil. The coal industry has been disrupted by conflict. Most gas and oil is imported, but since 2015

energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contr ...

has prioritised diversifying energy supply. About half of

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its s ...

is nuclear and a quarter coal. The largest

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ...

in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is located in Ukraine.

Fossil fuel subsidies Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential heating; or subsidies on production, such as tax breaks on exploration for oil. Or ...

were USD 2.2 billion in 2019. Until the 2010s all of Ukraine's nuclear fuel came from Russia, but now most does not. In 2020, Ukraine transited more natural gas than any other country in the world and it remains the main transit route for Russian natural gas sold to Europe, which earns Ukraine about $3 billion a year in transit fees, making it the country's most lucrative export service. Although gas transit is declining, over 40 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas flowed through Ukraine in 2021, which was about a third of Russian exports to other European countries. Some energy infrastructure was destroyed in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

Overview

Ukraine has a diversified energy mix, and no fuel takes up more than a third of the country’s energy sources. The primary fuel has traditionally been coal, which dropped to 30% in 2018. Natural gas (28%) and nuclear (24%) follow.

Gas

Coal

Electricity

Electricity production fell from 296 TWh in 1991 to 171 TWh in 1999, then increased slowly to 195 TWh in 2007, before falling again. In 2011, Ukraine joined the European Energy Community, however there has been slow progress on implementing European energy regulations. In 2014, total electricity production was 183 TWh; 88 TWh from nuclear, 71 TWh from coal, 13 TWh from natural gas, and 9 TWh from

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. Electricity consumption was 134 TWh after transmission losses of 20 TWh, with peak demand at about 28

GWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

. 8 TWh was exported to Europe. In 2015 electricity production fell to about 146 TWh largely due to a fall in

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...

coal supplies caused by the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. On 1 July 2019, a new wholesale energy market was launched, intended to bring real competition in the generation market and help future integration with Europe. The change was a prerequisite for receiving European Union assistance. It led to in increased price for industrial consumers of between 14% to 28% during July. The bulk of

Energoatom State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company "Energoatom" (SE NNEGC "Energoatom") is a state enterprise operating all four nuclear power plants in Ukraine ( Zaporizhzhia NPP, Rivne NPP, South Ukraine NPP, and Khmelnytskyi NPP). ...

output is sold to the government's "guaranteed buyer" to keep prices more stable for domestic customers.

Grid synchronisation with Europe

Since 2017 Ukraine sought to divest itself of dependency on the Unified Power System of Russia ( UPS) and instead connect westwards to the

synchronous grid of Continental Europe The synchronous grid of Continental Europe (also known as Continental Synchronous Area; formerly known as the UCTE grid) is the largest synchronous electrical grid (by connected power) in the world. It is interconnected as a single phase-locked ...

, thereby participating in European electricity markets. Power lines coupling the country to the grids of neighbouring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary existed, but were de-energised. A necessary prerequisite of Ukrainian integration was for the country to successfully demonstrate it was capable of running in a islanded manner, maintaining satisfactory control of its own frequency. To do that would require disconnection from the UPS grid, and a date of 24 February 2022 was set. This proved to be the date Russia invaded Ukraine, but the disconnection nonetheless proceeded to schedule. Ukraine placed an urgent request to synchronise with the European grid to

ENTSO-E ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators, represents 39 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) from 35 countries across Europe, thus extending beyond EU borders. ENTSO-E was established and given legal mandates b ...

, the European collective of transmission system operators of which it was a member, and on 16 March 2022 the western circuits were energised, bringing both Ukraine and Moldova, which is coupled to the Ukrainian grid, into the European synchronised grid. On 16 March 2022 a trial synchronisation started of the Ukraine and Moldova grid with the European grid.

Nuclear power

Renewable energy

Finance

Ukraine signed a loan agreement in-principle for $3.65 billion with the

China Development Bank The China Development Bank (CDB) () is a development bank in the People's Republic of China (PRC), led by a cabinet minister at the Governor level, under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. As one of three policy banks in China, it ...

in 2012, during President

Viktor Yanukovich Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

's term of office, contingent on the development of agreed development projects in the coal and gas sectors. However, by April 2017 Ukraine had not agreed any suitable projects due to a "lack of convergence in the positions of glesintezgazand the energy ministry". Elementum Energy Ltd owns the most power plants.

References

External links

Map of Ukrainian power grids
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukraine