Ukrainians find new energy sources to avoid winter blackouts

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Ukrainians find new energy sources to  avoid winter  blackouts
Valerii Pyndyk,  chairman of the board of a housing  association, is pictured on the roof of an apartment building, where solar panels  have been installed, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in  Kiev, Ukraine,
Valerii Pyndyk,  chairman of the board of a housing  association, is pictured on the roof of an apartment building, where solar panels  have been installed, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in  Kiev, Ukraine, November  14.
Briefing
Ukrainians innovate to  avoid winter power outages
Valerii Pyndyk, standing on the  roof of a  16-story residential building in  the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, pointed to rows of solar  panels. He hopes the  installation, one of the first of its kind by  Kiev residents, will help  the roughly 1,000 families living in the building  weather what could  be Ukraine's harshest winter since the  Russian occupation began. "The idea  came when we had  power outages in  the summer.  "We, the board of the housing  association, realized that if we had blackouts in  the summer, then in  the winter they  would not be  shorter, but  longer," said Pyndyk, 49, who heads the  association. 00:08
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The previous two winters of war were already  difficult, but Russia has now  stepped up its attacks on  Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with at least 11 major missile and drone strikes since  March. About half of  Ukraine's generating capacity  has been knocked out and distribution networks  have also  been damaged. In Kiev, daily  eight-hour power outages are common and people plan their days around when  electricity is  expected to be available, including waiting in cafes for elevators to work if they live near the top of high-rise  buildings.
Some residents and businesses have rushed to install new generating capacity in an  effort to access energy  independent of the central  power system. "In Ukraine, the general trend is towards energy independence, starting  with small  customers (consumers) and ending with  businesses," said Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO of Yasno, a  large energy  supplier. The strategies  include more electricity imports from  Ukraine's western neighbors, purchases of generators and alternative energy  sources, including solar panels, batteries and small turbine  generators, analysts said.

Yasno, which supplies electricity and gas to more than 3.5 million consumers and up to 100,000 businesses,  offers options that include solar panels and  storage batteries and  inverters. "The demand is very  high," Kovalenko told Reuters. "This  fall we installed up to eight megawatts, next year we will install up to 30-35  megawatts.
Eight megawatts  in this case is enough to  power a dozen  businesses, the company  said.
SECURITY  ASPECTS
Russia has damaged or destroyed all of  Ukraine's power and  hydroelectric power plants. In monetary terms,  the total damage to  Ukraine's energy sector exceeds $56 billion, including $16 billion in direct physical destruction and  more than $40 billion in indirect financial losses, according to estimates  by the Kyiv School of  Economics. The country has increasingly  relied on nuclear generation,  making it difficult to balance the amount of electricity on the grid, especially during  the morning and evening  peak hours when retail consumption  increases.

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