POWER SECTOR

The energy field is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions all over the world. At the same time, recent technological innovations enable both developed countries and countries with transitional economies to substantially improve the efficiency of energy supply.

The methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that the major sources of GHG emissions in the energy field include:

• Fugitive emissions from fossil fuel production, transportation, storage and distribution
• Fossil fuel combustion for:

a) heat and electricity production

b) industry

c) transport

d) commercial and residential sector

e) agriculture/forestry

Electricity and Heat Production

The Ukrainian power sector today is characterized by:

• Outdated equipment of the power plants
• High energy intensity for electricity and heat production (up to 374.7 grams of tce per kWh)
• Lack of flue gas purification systems in power plants

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions in the power sector of Ukraine, 1999.^*

^* Calculated according to IPCC methodology

There are four basic ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from generating electricity in developed countries: switching to fossil fuels with a lower carbon content per energy unit (e.g., from coal to natural gas); improving the efficiency of power plant technology and combustion process; increasing efficiency of electricity transmission and distribution; and developing renewable energy sources.

The major measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in today's Ukrainian power sector should increase the efficiency of fuel combustion by improving technological processes of the power plants. Each plant (power unit, a boiler) should tailor specific measures to its individual conditions.

Such measures may include:

• Supplying power units in Ukraine with tecnologically appropriate fuel: this will enable them to reduce emissions due to the more efficient fuel combustion process and will also reduce company’s technical maintenance expenditures;
• Eliminating the mixing of fossil fuels in combustion: this will lead to a more efficient combustion process;
• Enabling a more efficient combustion of natural gas and mazut at the most advanced power units – shifting the load to the most efficient generators can lead to significant ÑÎ₂ emission reductions;
• Reducing emissions from flue gases: utilizing heat from flue gases can become an important energy conservation measure;
• Reducing additional air inflows in the combustion process: this will improve the fuel combustion and increase its efficiency;
• Upgrading the existing gas combined-cycle units.

National level measures can include:

• Introducing gas combined-cycle equipment at existing power units with the capacity of 800 and 300 MWt;
• Switching traditional units to co-generation;
• Introducing in the whole power sector of Ukraine combined-cycle units fueled by gas, mazut, or solid fuel (depending on different technologies).