Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

is mainly from

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

and

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 ...

, followed by

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

. Ukraine has a diversified energy mix, and no fuel takes up more than a third of the country’s energy sources. Most gas and oil is imported, but since 2015

energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

has prioritised diversifying

energy supply Energy supply is the delivery of fuels or transformed fuels to point of consumption. It potentially encompasses the extraction, transmission, generation, distribution and storage of fuels. It is also sometimes called energy flow. This supply o ...

. The coal industry has been disrupted by war, and as of 2024 over 70% of

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...

is nuclear. The largest

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

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

Fossil fuel subsidies Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels. Under a narrow definition, fossil fuel subsidies totalled around $1.5 trillion in 2022. Under more expansive definition, they totalled around $7 trillion. They may be tax breaks on c ...

were USD 1.6 billion in 2021. Until the 2010s all of Ukraine's nuclear fuel came from Russia, but now most does not. Ukraine’s gas network has much storage, which can be useful for storing Europe's gas to even out supply and demand, and it formerly transited much Russian natural gas to Europe but that agreement ends at the end of 2024. Some energy infrastructure was destroyed in the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, but wind farms and

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

are thought to be resilient because they are distributed. An energy strategy to 2050 was adopted in 2023 but has not yet been published. There is a draft energy and climate plan to 2030. Energy consumption by source by year in Ukraine

Energy consumption by source by year in Ukraine

History

In 2011, Ukraine joined the European Energy Community, however there has been slow progress on implementing European energy regulations.

Gas

Oil

Coal

Electricity

Renewable energy

Heating

District heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...

has been attacked and significantly damaged. In 2024 the

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 associatio ...

(IEA) wrote about heat supply to Ukraine’s major cities. “Most attacks on heating infrastructure have occurred in regions close to the front lines. The Kharkiv region is now without large-scale heat generating capacity and other frontline regions – particularly Chernihiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Mykolaiv – have suffered severe damage to their heat generation capacities. Heat supply is also at risk in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.”

Efficiency and demand response

In 2024 the IEA recommended engaging consumers in

energy saving Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less and better sources of energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavi ...

and

demand response Demand response is a change in the power consumption of an electric utility customer to better match the demand for power with the supply. Until the 21st century decrease in the cost of pumped storage and batteries, electric energy could not b ...

, while continuing investments in energy efficiency. They said that “a social tariff that safeguards a certain volume of consumption at subsidised rates, after which consumers pay a higher price, would help to incentivise efficient practices and investments, supported by public information campaigns that advise on energy efficiency measures for immediate impact as well as longer-term gains. Lowering the default temperature for district heating can also provide quick savings.”

Personnel and finance

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

China Development Bank China Development Bank (CDB) is a policy bank of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, it has been described as the engine that powers the national government's economic development policies.

in 2012, during President Viktor Yanukovich's term of office, contingent on the development of agreed projects in the coal and gas sectors. However, by 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. The

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

is financing municipal district heating and energy efficiency projects. Although by 2024 more women were working in the energy sector than before they were still underrepresented in leadership positions.

During war

In the winter of 2022–23 Russia targeted switchyards and transformers, but the following year they concentrated on power plants perhaps because they are harder to protect and take longer to repair.

References

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