The Ministry of Energy claims to have connected almost all of ‘Zelensky’s Gigawatts’
1 January 2025 09:56
As of December 31, 2024, the total capacity of connected distributed gas generation facilities in Ukraine reached 967 MW, of which 835 MW was commissioned during 2024. This was announced by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the ministry’s plans, about 900 MW of additional capacity is expected to be connected by the end of the 2024-2025 heating season. Some of these facilities are already at the final stage of implementation.
According to the grid operators, a significant part of the generating facilities are integrated into the technological power grids of consumers and are used to meet the needs of enterprises and communities. This has a positive impact on the security of electricity supply and reduces the overall load on the integrated power system of Ukraine, especially during peak consumption hours.
The Ministry of Energy together with NPC Ukrenergo invite owners of generating facilities to join the provision of ancillary and balancing services within the current electricity market model.
“The work on connecting additional generating capacities is ongoing. The government has taken all the necessary decisions to simplify the permitting procedures as much as possible and accelerate the construction and connection timeframes. By the end of the autumn-winter period of 2024-2025, we expect to connect an additional 900 MW of distributed generation facilities,”
– said Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
For security reasons, detailed information on the location of distributed generation facilities is not disclosed, as such data could be used by Russia to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
With this information, the Ministry of Energy refutes the data provided by Andriy Gerus, the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s Energy Committee, who claims that Ukraine has installed only 300 megawatts of Zelenskyy’s Gigawatt , and connected only half of them.
As reported by , at the end of 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an ambitious plan to create shunting power plants with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt. on June 11, at a conference on Ukraine’s recovery in Berlin, President Zelensky said that Ukraine had a clear plan to build them by the end of the year.
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Situation in the Ukrainian energy sector
on March 22, 2024, Russia resumed its attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector, carrying out one of the most massive shelling operations in the entire period of the full-scale war. In particular, DniproHES and other Ukrainian energy facilities were hit. Since then, Russia has been regularly shelling Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
For example, the Russians destroyed the Trypillia and Zmiiv thermal power plants, causing Centrenergo to lose 100% of its generation. Also, 5 of DTEK’s 6 thermal power plants were severely damaged.
After that, power outages began again in Ukraine, Ukrenergo introduced blackout schedules, and the government raised electricity tariffs by 60% at once.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to build two new units at the Khmelnytsky N PP and has already received approval from the relevant parliamentary committee. The Razumkov Center has criticized these plans, but some experts believe that only traitors or scoundrels are against the construction of nuclear power plants today.
Russia launched another massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector on August 26. This time, they targeted distribution and power generation systems, and also hit the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant.
Russia carried out the most massive shelling of Ukraine on November 17, 2024, firing 127 cruise, ballistic, and supersonic missiles and 109 attack drones. DTEK reported serious damage to its thermal power plants.
Some experts believe that the blackouts could last until spring. And the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine recently voiced the worst-case scenario, which envisages blackouts of up to 20 hours a day.
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