Ukraine - Hydro-electric Power
Ukraine has a history in both large- and small hydroelectric production. There are more than 40 operational hydropower plants in Ukraine. Most of these are located on the main rivers: the Dnipro, Dnister, Southern Bug and Tisza. There are seven of them on the balance sheet of Ukrhydroenergo: six on the Dnieper and one on the Dniester. Under Soviet rule, the Dnieper turned from a river into a chain of reservoirs. The Kakhovsky HPP is the lowest and last (sixth) stage in the cascade of Dnipro hydroelectric stations. The energy potential of big rivers has to a great extent already been exploited. This is not the case for the smaller watercourses. Ukraine is well endowed with small rivers, approximately 60,000 of which can be classified as ‘very small’. Most of these are located in the western part of the country, near the Carpathian Mountains.
The Dnieper River is the natural barrier preventing the advance of any offensive. It is the longest and largest river in Ukraine and the fourth largest in Europe, at more than 2,200 kilometres long. It is the natural border in Kherson Oblast, "the most reasonable option for organising a defence", as Russian General Sergey Surovikin, the then commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, put it. Compared to other countries poorly endowed with mineral resources, Ukraine produces renewable energy in negligible amounts. Ukraine has set a goal of sourcing 25% of its total energy mix from renewables by 2035. The current share of energy generated from renewable energy sources (RES), wind, solar, biomass, biogas, and small hydro, including big hydropower projects over 10MW, is comparatively small. At the beginning of 2020, the share of renewables in energy reached 11 percent and by the end of the year reached 12.4 percent. The current feed-in tariff or “Green Tariffs” will expire on January 1, 2030.
Ukraine has a variety of energy resources, including hydroelectric power, which is an important part of its energy mix. Although it's not the primary source of energy in the country, Ukraine has several large hydroelectric power stations. The primary hydroelectric facilities in Ukraine included:
- Kiev Reservoir (alias "Kiev Sea")- Kiev Hydroelectric Station: Located near Vyshgorod and part of the Dnieper Cascade, the Kiev Hydroelectric Station has a capacity of 288 MW.
- Kaniv Reservoir
- Kremenchuk Reservoir
- Dniprodzerzhynsk Reservoir
- Dnieper Reservoir - Dnieper Hydroelectric Station: Located on the Dnieper River, this is the largest hydroelectric power station in Ukraine. The station was first commissioned in 1932 and it has a capacity of 1,569.6 MW. It is part of a series of six large hydropower stations along the course of the Dnieper River.
- Kakhovka Reservoir - Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant: Also on the Dnieper River, the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant is part of the Dnieper Cascade. The plant has a capacity of 351 MW.
In addition, there are smaller hydropower facilities throughout the country, and the potential for further development of this sector is significant. The Ukrainian government has expressed interest in further developing renewable energy resources, including hydroelectric power, to reduce its dependence on imported energy.
However, it's important to note that while hydroelectric power is a more sustainable form of energy compared to fossil fuels, it's not without its challenges. These can include significant environmental and ecological impacts, displacement of local communities for large-scale projects, and potential risks related to climate change, including changing water levels.
Dnipro Cascade of Hydroelectric Stations ( Dniprovskyi kaskad HES) is a series of six hydroelectric stations on the Dnipro River. The projected potential of these stations is about 3.8 million kilowatts. The average annual production is 9.8 billion kilowatt-hours. The large reservoirs that have been constructed as part of the Dnipro Cascade are used for regulating the water level of the Dnipro, irrigating the arid regions of southern Ukraine, and improving the water supply in the industrial regions along the Dnipro River and in the Donets Basin. At the same time a deep-water route along the Dnipro from the Black Sea to the mouth of the Prypiat River has been created.
The energy potential of the Dnipro began to be tapped when the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station was built in 1927–32 (352,000 kW) according to the plan of the State Commission for the Electrification of Russia (GOELRO). In 1950–6 the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station (352,000 kW) was built, followed by the Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Station (625,000 kW) in 1960, the Dniprodzerzhynsk Hydroelectric Station (now Middle Dnipro Hydroelectric Station) (325,000 kW) in 1956–65, the Kyiv Hydroelectric Station (586,000 kW) in 1968, and the Kaniv Hydroelectric Station (444,000 kW) in 1963–75. In 1969 construction of the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station - 2 (Dniprohes-2), with a potential of 828,000 kW, began. In the 1980s eight smaller hydroelectric stations are planned for the future on the upper stretch of the Dnipro in Belarus and Russia.
Ukraine is capable of generating more than 80 TWh of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and more than 120 TWh by 2050. Although the Ukrainian government operates with more modest calculations, it nonetheless calls for a renewable share of the electricity production of more than 30% by 2030.
The operation of the Dnieper and Dniester reservoirs is regulated by the Interdepartmental Commission under the State Water Agency of Ukraine and takes into account the needs of all water users, primarily the provision of drinking water to the population and the maintenance of the ecologically safe state of reservoirs.
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