The authorities built their own network of small generation in Khmelnytskyi — this made it possible to be energy independent

In Khmelnytskyi, they managed to build their own network of small generation, which enables the local thermal utility to fully supply the city with electricity.

This is stated in the material of the publication «Espresso. Zahid».

Currently, the city has 15 cogeneration plants, which provided electricity to enterprises for almost the entire winter. Last year, 21 million kW of electricity were produced, of which 15 million were consumed, and 6 million were sold to the energy market.

«This makes it possible to produce enough electricity to fully supply the utility company with electricity. At most, part of the produced electricity can be sold on the energy market. And we sell,» the publication writes.

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The authors assure that Khmelnytskyi is the only city in Ukraine that can provide residents with heat and water supply even during long blackouts in winter. For this, Khmelnytskyi focused on cogeneration plants.

«The first cogeneration plant was installed back in 2003, that is, long before the great war. At that time, the goal of the project was to produce its own electricity in order to save the resource of the thermal utility. It was a Ukrainian-made installation with a capacity of 500 kW. Since that time, we have constantly replenished the company's fleet with these machines. Thanks to cogeneration, for many years the cost of one gigacalorie of heat in Khmelnytskyi was one of the lowest in Ukraine. Now, the cost of a gigacalorie is ₴1,480 — this is a fairly moderate price, and it was possible to achieve it thanks to the production of our own electricity. Now, when the enemy is destroying the infrastructure, this is the only option to provide the city with heat,» says Vice Mayor Vasyl Novachok.

Cogeneration plants differ from diesel generators in that they produce electricity by burning gas, not gasoline or diesel. In addition to electricity, they also produce heat, which makes them efficient. Gas comes through pipes, while gasoline or diesel must be delivered by tankers, which complicates logistics. Also, the cost of electricity produced from gas is much lower than from a diesel generator.

In the conditions of war, there are practically no alternatives to cogeneration to provide heat to populated areas, especially in front-line cities. It is necessary to choose a generation that is not too powerful, so that it does not become a new interesting object for the enemy. Also, cogeneration units have significant advantages, as they are easy to place in inconspicuous rooms.

We will remind that in Mykolaiv they also plan to install modular cogeneration units that can fully provide the city's infrastructure with electricity. This was announced in December 2023 by the head of Mykolaivoteploenergo, Mykola Lohvinov.

In particular, it was discussed during the session of the Mykolaiv City Council on May 30. Deputies agreed to the demolition of the old building of the boiler house. And the plot will be used to implement the construction of the installation.