The Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine

National Technical University of Ukraine

«KPI»

Essay

on the theme:

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

IN UKRAINE

Performed by:

5th year student

group ET-41,

Tuma Oleg.V.

Kiev 2006

Ukraine is an energy-rich republic. It has resources of coal, gas and oil. However, there continues to be a shortfall between domestic primary energy production and demand as a result of low investment in domestic capacity. Approximately one-third of Ukraine's primary energy is sourced from coal, while another third is from gas. Nuclear power plays an important role in electricity production, providing 30-40% of electricity supply.

In 1993 renewable energy resources accounted for less than 1% of primary energy demand. This was mainly accounted by the use of large scale hydro to produce electricity, and wood used as a domestic heating fuel. There has been little development of renewable energy due to historically low fossil fuel prices and no need to consider security of energy supply. There has been significant research and development carried out in Ukraine, in particularly wind power and solar power. However, these markets have barely developed beyond demonstration systems. There is considerable renewable resource in Ukraine, but today this has not been widely developed. As fuel prices are raised to market levels and government implements programmes to support and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, the future role for renewable energy is considerable. In 1996 the National Energy Programme was adopted in Ukrainian parliament, in which much attention is paid to wind, solar and geothermal energy as well as various biomass resources. Particularly the Ukrainian wind fund is designed to support the implementation of 100MW of capacity each year with a target of 2000MW by 2010. The government has also passed a resolution to assist the development of geothermal electric power, which aims to expand installed capacity to 6000 MW over ten years.

Renewable energy installed capacities

There are so many compelling reasons why it is time to move away from using nuclear power and fossil fuels to generate energy: climate change, radioactive contamination, nuclear proliferation, the unsolved problem of nuclear waste, air and water pollution, resource depletion, and of course the need to create a sustainable energy system based on indigenous renewable resources. A global commitment must be made to phase-out nuclear power and fossil fuels. Technology is one of the keys, but the way these technologies are managed and financed is just as important as the way they work. With adequate resourcing this technology can be used to bring an end to the nuclear and fossil fuel nightmare and to start a realistic clean energy programme for future generations.

Energy efficiency equipment should be cost-effective and easy to install. It should also be reliable, durable, and suitable for widespread application. Renewable energy technologies should be convenient to use, easy to operate and maintain, and be economically competitive. They should be long-lasting and their installation and operation should not seriously disrupt human settlements or sensitive ecosystems. Finally, they should generate considerably more energy over a lifetime than is invested in their construction and operation. Central & Eastern Europe can either continue to operate expensive dangerous and polluting nuclear power plants, or begin to implement new policies which will ensure that renewable energy systems are developed by receiving the political and financial support they deserve. It is all too easy to point to old buildings that waste energy, to inefficient industries and so on, but these case studies show that political will can convert old buildings and transform industrial processes. Unfortunately, such commitment still remains the exception rather than the rule. Governments still subsidise and promote the inefficient and polluting technologies of the past. The same is also true of the International Funding Institutions. The region does have the power to change. The successful projects give some examples of how it can be done. Breaking the addiction to nuclear power will require unprecedented political commitment, but the health and security of future generations depend on it. In Central and Eastern Europe, energy efficiency offers one of the best opportunities for lessening dependence on nuclear power and reducing the climate impacts of polluting fossil fuels. However, governments in the region continue to invest large sums of money in nuclear power projects, whilst expenditure on energy conservation has been minimal. Also, the European Union, through Euratom, continues to invest billions of ECU into developing nuclear power in the region. Following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, there were numerous energy efficiency studies carried out in Ukraine. These studies developed by institutions such as the World Bank and the European Union have shown a huge potential for energy savings. The Ukrainian government has also set up a State Committee on Energy Conservation which has the task of co-ordinating and implementing a national energy savings strategy. In it’s draft document for a ‘Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Programme’, the Committee has shown that 42-48% of Ukraine’s total energy consumption (using 1990 as a base load) could be avoided. A balanced energy policy for any country should aim at energy efficiency with a long-term programme of implementation of renewable sources of energy. Energy from the wind, the sun and the water is constantly available and produces few environmental problems compared with other sources of energy. The treatment of wastes such as biomass, extracting ‘geothermal’ energy from the earth and small-scale hydroelectric schemes also offer good possibilities. ............