Formation Policy of Ukraine Energy Balance

One of the basic directions of power policy in the state is forming of fuel and energy balance (FEB). Fuel and energy balance of a country is the system of indices, which characterizes existing fuel and energy resources (FER) in a country and their use.

FEB of Ukraine is formed due to two sources: import of power carriers (43%) and their mining. Ukraine is a country of energy deficit, which for today satisfies only a half of its needs in fuel and energy.

Ukraine is provided with the supplies of coal for several hundred years, therefore it remains the main power carrier of the country. Supplies of other energy resources are very limited. As it is registered in the state analytical materials, a part of coal in the fuel and energy balance of Ukraine makes up 28.8 % (world index: 28.6 %), natural gas: 44 % (world index: 23 %), petroleum: 9.6 % (world index: 37.5 %), atomic Energy: 13.3 % (world index: 6,5 %), waterpower: 1.6 % (world index: 6.2 %). The large part of natural gas in the energy balance of Ukraine testifies to dependence on the import of gas, as a country has not considerable supplies of gas. Today Ukraine consumes about 76 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The own mining of the country makes up about 20 billion cubic meters. The major part of imported gas is supplied from Turkmenistan and other countries of Middle Asia, another part: from Russia. The main supplier of petroleum is Russia (75%), besides 14% of petroleum is supplied by Kazakhstan and only 11% Ukrainian oil-extracting companies. Ukraine takes the 10th place in the world in coal mining (81.5 million tons in 2004) and the eighth on the proved supplies (34 153 million tons). At present rates of mining Ukraine will have coal for 412 years (gas for 62 years). The world supplies of coal make up in a recalculation on a conditional fuel about 66 % of a general volume of the supplies of explored energy resources. At the beginning of 2004 the world supplies of coal, of natural gas and oil will be enough for 204, 61 and 41 years accordingly. On the volumes of the use of primary power carriers coal takes the third place after oil and natural gas and is used, foremost, in the base sectors of economy: for production of electric power (in 2004 : 76% of its general consumption) and in the metallurgical industry (about 15%). As we can see, FEB of Ukraine does not correspond to the existing supplies of FER in the country and world tendencies in the use of power carriers. Thus, gas takes the main place among all FER in the energy balance, though supplies of coal per one man exceed the world ones one or two times. As modern technologies of coal firing and means of emission refinement are widely being used today, there are no grounds to assert about ecological disparity of coal as fuel in comparison with gas.

An example can be FEB of such countries as Poland, India, China, where the level of the use of coal makes up 66.4%, 51.2% and 67.3% accordingly.

For one dollar of producible products in Ukraine, in accordance with a conducted analysis 89 kilograms of standard coal are expended. It is three – five times more than in the developed countries.

At the same time dependence of the country on the delivery of fuel from other countries last years made up 60%. The state practically does not pay attention to this problem. The decline of a level of power dependence first of all relies on measures for reduction of the part of the general import of FER which must be carried out due to the increase of a level and efficiency of the own production of FER and due to the rise of efficiency of their use. The conducted analysis of experience of foreign countries showed (countries of EU, the USA etc) that the level of power dependence can be decreased due to:

  • the increase of mining and consumption of own FER;
  • the rise of efficiency of production, transporting and FER consumptions;
  • diversification of import of power carriers;
  • management of power dependence by creation of a situation of interdependence etc;
  • diversifications of types of consumable FER.

All these directions of the decline of power dependence are directly related to the process of forming power balance, therefore determination of optimum FER must be carried out taking into account the decline of power dependence of the country.

Among the basic principles of FEB formation, which lately strikes root in the developed countries of the world, is avoidance of the FEB dependence on one type of energy resource that allows to lower risks in the energy supply and is instrumental in reduction of power dependence only on one FER. Taking into account present resource potential, every country first of all determines priorities of own mining of definite FER and on the basis of these priorities develops its own FEB.

Ukraine owns enormous potential of untraditional and renewable energy sources, the economic base of which approximately equals to 100 million tons of standard coal, although the part of their use in power balance of the country makes up about 6%. The problem consists in absence of mechanism of economic motivation for the use of energy saving technologies and the FER economy, attraction of innovative means and investments in the sphere of energy saving and use of untraditional energy sources.

Potential of wind energy on the territory of Ukraine is estimated at the level of 20-30 million tons of standard coal and it is planned in the program of building of wind electric power station (WEPS) till 2010 to build WEPS of 2000 MW capacity that will economize 1.8 million tons of standard coal.

Sun energy, which goes on the territory of the country, is estimated at 400 million tons of standard coal. Till 2010 it is planned to erect helium plants of hot water-supply for 0.4 million tons of standard coal and photo-electric plants of 96.5 MW capacity that will provide the economy of 55 million tons of standard coal.

The water-power of the Ukrainian small rivers is estimated in 12.5 billion of kW per hour and power of small and micro HES in 2010 can reach 600 MW that will provide an economy of more than 47 million tons of standard coal

Geothermal energy of bowels of the earth of Ukraine is estimated at 50 million tons of standard coal and till 2010 it is forecast to use the power of the geothermal water systems of 1170 MW, which will provide an economy of 1.5 million tons of standard coal.

Gases, obtained from small gases, gas condensated, petrol-gas condensated beds can be referred to the alternative gas fuel the prognoses supplies of which make up 30.9 milliard m 3.

For the substantial increase in the energy balance of Ukraine of FER volumes of untraditional and renewable energy sources it is necessary to create the objects of alternative energy in the most perspective technological directions:

  • introduction of innovative constructions of wind aggregates for network and autonomous wind energy, facilities for the most widespread wind conditions of Ukraine;
  • expansion of the sphere and increase of volumes of the use of sun and geothermal energy for production of electric power and hot supply;
  • use of water-power of small rivers by renewal of destroyed and building of new small HES, and also utilizations of energy of the technical water supply systems;
  • introduction of the combined cogeneration power systems in complex with the systems of accumulation of energy;
  • building of biogas complexes for the receipt of biogas from sediment of sewage flows of cities and wastes of agricultural and forest economy, food retail industry and also creation of conditions for the development in Ukraine power plantations on the base of fast-growing plants and technologies of processing of biomass in power carriers;
  • networking enterprises on processing of domestic garbage with the purpose of its elimination and receipt of electric and thermal energy.

But for the implementation of all these measures the reliable financial provision is needed. Undoubtedly, a part of energy consumption in production, wearing of fixed capital stock of production, absence of effective energy saving technologies complicates the situation in the fuel and the energy complex.

Excessive energy consumption of key export industries, foremost, such as metallurgical and chemical, results in that greater part of currency receipts of industry of Ukraine goes not for the development of production, but for payment of imported energy resources.

One of the major ways, on which it is necessary to project development of economy of Ukraine, is energy saving. Energy effectiveness and energy saving is priority directions of power policy of the most countries of the world. It is conditioned by the exhausting non-renewable FER, absence of a real alternative of their replacement, by risks at their production and transporting.

Lately these factors acquire more and more greater importance in connection with general instability in the regions of the FER mining, by tension in the fuel-resource market and unfavorable prognoses concerning a further increase of prices on energy resources.

Experience of the developed countries of the world and own experience of Ukraine testifies to the necessity of government control of processes of energy saving and holding a purposeful state policy. Only the state can provide the effectiveness of financial mechanism of energy saving through balanced legislative, flexible price, tariff and tax policy.

The basic principles of such a policy should be the following:

  • priority of rise of efficiency of FER use in comparison with the growth of volumes of their mining and production of thermal and electric energy;
  • accordance of the policy to common market transformations in the country;
  • priority of providing safety of man health, social and home conditions of human life, protection of natural environment at mining, production, processing, transporting and the use of FER or energy;
  • realization of government control in the field of energy saving;
  • necessity of economic support of energy saving, stimulation of the use of renewable energy sources;
  • obligatory FER consideration, which are produced and consumed;
  • system approach in energy saving;
  • realization of informative, educational and research activity in the field of energy saving.

Taking into account the results received on the basis of forecast data of the project of the power strategy of Ukraine till 2030 year, it is possible to make a conclusion, that in the country due to energy saving till 2020 year it is possible to attain the economy of power carriers in the general volume 470 million tons of standard coal, that corresponds to reduction of expenditures for their import about $38 billion. Net economy can make in 2020 about $15 billion, accordingly energy consumption of GDP will decrease by more than 4.8 times.

Other advantages of energy saving consist in reduction of man-caused pressure on surrounding environment: reduction of volumes of СОemission in 2020 can attain 207 million tons that will improve considerably life conditions in Ukraine. In addition, energy saving in power engineering will allow to economize in 2020 about 323 billion kW of electric power.

According to data of the State Committee on energy saving, in 2004 in Ukraine due to energy saving 6.06 million tons of standard coal was economized in total. The total cost of economized energy resources: 1602.44 million hryvnyas.

Taking into account possibilities of the country concerning the increase of the own mining of FER and increase of the FEB capacities and existent considerable potential of energy saving, the special attention must be spared to the measures on introduction of energy effectiveness and energy saving.

Thus the technological rearmament of industry due to introduction of innovations must be the main warning mechanism of possible increase of the prime price of gross mining of power carriers.

According to the chairman of the society «Novaya Energiya» Valery Borovik, Ukraine should not anymore go only in cycles of negotiations with countries, which are the old sources of energy supply for it, and the search of new outsourcings, but pay attention to the problems of energy saving considerably. In fact not enough attention is paid in Ukraine to this direction, the sector of energy saving is in the catastrophic state. Today many representatives of serious investment companies expressed their desire to come to Ukraine. Potential of energy saving industry is very great, and in the near time Ukraine will become the place of fight between investors for possibility to work on its territory, in fact its investment attractiveness grows swiftly, and those, who came first and first gained a foothold in the market of energy saving, certainly, will have an advantage.