With Russia regularly knocking out Ukraine's power grid, the country has turned to high-capacity batteries to keep it connected to the world—and itself. Contact online >>
With Russia regularly knocking out Ukraine''s power grid, the country has turned to high-capacity batteries to keep it connected to the world—and itself.
The nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war, which has destroyed large swaths of Ukraine, has accelerated a transition to clean energy. Ukraine''s pavilion at COP29 displays a large smashed solar panel that was destroyed in an attack this year.
In response to sustained attacks on Ukraine''s electrical grid, Direct Relief is launching an expansive initiative to equip hospitals, emergency response hubs, and other key medical sites across Ukraine with backup electricity storage systems.
In June, turbine maker GE Vernova and manufacturer Honeywell announced plans to partner with DTEK for major wind and battery storage projects in Ukraine. Roger Martella, chief sustainability
In January 2022, Valeria Shashenok uploaded a TikTok video of herself playing tourist in Paris: red beret, fresh croissants, posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. A month later, her videos took on a much different character: Touring the bombed-out buildings of her town, Chernihiv, Ukraine; racing for cover as the air raid sirens sounded; reviewing the military rations served in her local bomb shelter.
Deep dive: This app set out to fight pesticides. Now it sells them
Event: Join us for The Big Interview on December 3 in San Francisco
FILE - Solar panels sit in the yard of an apartment building in Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Nov. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko, File)
FILE - Workers walk inside DTEK''s power plant which was destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Ukraine, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Maxim Timchenko, who runs the largest private energy company in Ukraine, pulls out a piece of paper with bar charts showing how much new electricity his company has brought online this year in the country versus how much Russian bombs have destroyed.
Total electricity goes up, then down, then up, then down — capturing the company''s constant rebuilding each time Russian missile attacks take out a facility, which include wind and solar farms and thermal (coal or gas-fired) generating stations. The Russian strikes are part of a campaign to target energy infrastructure to reduce power in Ukraine as winter looms.
"What other choice do we have?" Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, said during an interview on the sidelines of this year''s U.N. climate talks in Azerbaijan. "Sit and wait and pray that they don''t hit us, or do our job and bring lights back to our people?"
Russian forces continue to make small but steady gains in capturing Ukrainian territory at a time when there are questions about how much the United States, which has been providing weapons and money, will continue to support the country once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said he could quickly end the war if elected, although he hasn''t said how.
Whatever the future, the decentralized nature of some clean energies, in particular wind and solar, has allowed Ukraine to quickly restore power in ways that would be impossible with Ukraine''s more traditional energy sources, such as coal-fired power plants.
In centralized systems, all power is generated and sent to the grid over transmission lines from the same area. That means if the plant goes down, say in an attack, a large section of grid, or even the entire grid, comes to a halt. By contrast, wind and solar installations are usually more scattered, so less of the system goes down with one hit, and if the solar is on rooftops, the impact can be even more limited.
Attacks on two DTEK solar farms last spring are a good example. They destroyed many solar panels and some of the transformers, which step up voltage for long distances or step it down for use in homes. Replacing the transformers and swapping out destroyed panels allowed the farms, which generate 400 megawatts, to be back up in seven days.
Timchenko said an attack on a thermal generating station, which experienced a similar amount of damage, took three to four months to rebuild.
"That''s the difference between centralized and so-called decentralized generation. It''s much more resistant and difficult to destroy," said Timchenko.
Geoffrey Pyatt, assistant secretary of the U.S. State Department''s Bureau of Energy Resources, said that Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have evolved. In 2022 and 2023, they focused on transformers.
Renewable and other infrastructure projects are financed by partnerships between governments and businesses, spreading out the risk, since there is no guarantee that something built isn''t destroyed by missiles. In June, turbine maker GE Vernova and manufacturer Honeywell announced plans to partner with DTEK for major wind and battery storage projects in Ukraine.
Roger Martella, chief sustainability officer for GE Vernova, said that developing public-private partnerships was key to lowering risk and making investment more attractive. Ukraine''s resistance was also an inspiration, Martella told a panel on Ukrainian renewables at COP29.
"We''re humbled by the fact that Ukraine has done something no one has ever done before, which is to maintain the grid in a war-torn environment," said Martella.
Pyatt, a former ambassador in Ukraine, said he has seen widespread support for Ukraine''s energy systems in the G7, a group of leading industrialized nations.
While making clear he couldn''t speak for the incoming Trump administration, Pyatt said he believed support for Ukraine in the energy sector would "continue in any scenario."
"If you start to get big American companies like GE and Fluxus and Honeywell involved in energy reconstruction, and there''s going to be billions of dollars of energy reconstruction," he said.
The Associated Press'' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP''s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP
About Ukraine battery safety
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Ukraine battery safety have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Ukraine battery safety for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Ukraine battery safety featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
