Ukraine to build Europe’s largest energy storage facility at a hydroelectric power plant
In 2024, Ukrhydroenergo plans to launch a project to build an energy storage system and solar power plants at Ukrainian hydroelectric power plants (HPPs). Ihor Syrota, CEO of Ukrhydroenergo, said this in an interview with DW. According to him, the company has agreed with the World Bank on a project implementation plan and by the end of 2023, the feasibility study, the design solution for the construction of energy storage will be completed and the necessary procurement will be carried out.
Syrota said that the project envisages the installation of 212 MW of electricity storage systems to expand Ukrhydroenergo’s capacity to provide ancillary services for frequency regulation and restoration, as well as 63.9 MW of solar power plants as an additional source of HPPs’ own needs and to charge electricity storage systems. This is a kind of industrial battery, where it will be possible to accumulate energy when there is a lot of it and use it in times of shortage.
Also, energy storage will make it possible to equalize the balance of green generation during weather fluctuations. “We plan to build the largest energy storage facility in Europe. Given the security issues, it will already be protected, and we are adjusting the project for this purpose. After all, after Russian missile attacks, we realize that everything that was on the surface should now be underground,” said Ihor Syrota.
As DW previously reported, Ukrainian power engineers plan to move most of the key energy facilities underground to avoid their destruction due to targeted Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.
