In this article we share the results of the study of the current state of the electricity market produced from renewable energy sources (RES).
To begin with, we present the basic indicators of electricity production from renewable energy sources.
At the beginning of 2023, the total installed capacity of RES facilities increased by 79 MW and reached 8,534 MW. In total, 1,031 companies operate in the sector through more than 1,500 installations.
The total production volume of green electricity decreased by 11% (-1267 million kWh), compared to 2021. In 2022 the decrease of the electricity production amount at wind power plants was 56%, at mHPS and SPPs was 21%.
176 plants received the allowance for the local component, of which the largest number – 118 plants – use solar energy and 28 – wind turbines.
A brief overview is available on the infographic.
The place and role of bioenergy
Electricity production from biomass
The green tariff is set for 23 installations with a total capacity of 154 MW, which is 1.8% of the total installed RES capacity. The total installed capacity of TPP/CHP in the Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions is the highest and amounts to more than 26 MW, there are four and three facilities, respectively. The annual volume of electricity production was 288 million kWh.
The volume of electricity produced from biomass decreased by 26% (-100 million kWh), compared to 2021. The following companies managed to increase the production of electricity:
- PJSC “Poez-Kernel Group” (10.38 MW) by 60%,
- LLC “Bio Electrics” (6 MW), LLC “Pivden Bio Enerdzhi” (3 MW), LLC “Ukrainian Black Sea Industry” (16.4 MW) by 200%.
Such companies as LLC “Bandurskyi OEZ” (13.68 MW), LLC “Biotes” (6 MW), LLC “Kombinat Cargill” (2 MW, Donetsk) and LLC “PGS-Energiia” (2.7 MW) could not establish the supply of electricity to the network. At all other facilities, the volume of production decreased by 16 – 87%.
In general, in Ukraine, the utilization rate of the installed capacity on biomass is 21%, and the highest level was recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region – 66% and Lviv region – 60% at the particular enterprises:
- LLC “Ajax Dnipro”,
- LLC “Mebel-Servis”.
This situation is caused by a decrease in the level of production at active facilities and the absence of production at new facilities, as well as the low economic feasibility of electricity production at the green tariff.
Read the infographic below.
In 2020, a new 2.5 MW CHP on biomass “Ekoteploresurs” was built in the city of Vyshneve. It is operating on wood chips and wood pellets. The boiler type KE 25-24-350 with a chain grate was redesigned to work on wood fuel. The CHP works in cogeneration mode and supplies thermal energy to the city’s centralized heat supply system. Already in February 2023, the tariff for the production of thermal energy for the population was established in the amount of UAH 1,419.93/Gcal without VAT and the tariff for budget institutions and organizations was UAH 2,498.51/Gcal without VAT. In particular, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) established a surcharge to the green tariff for compliance with the level of use of Ukrainian-made equipment in the amount of 20%.
Electricity production from biogas
At the end of 2022, the total installed capacity of biogas plants was 135 MW, which is 1.6% of the total installed capacity of RES. In total, we are talking about 64 installations for which a green tariff has been established, of which 10 facilities received a surcharge for the local component.
The largest number of facilities is located in Kyiv region – 9 (12.3 MW), and the largest installed capacity in Khmelnytskyi region – 27.5 MW (6 facilities).
Some of the biogas plants in Ukraine operate without electricity production and/or are not connected to networks. In 2022, four new plants with a total capacity of 10.8 MW were additionally put into operation and a green tariff was established. There are:
- LLC “Horodyshche-Pustovarivska Agrarian Company” (6 MW),
- LLC “Gratus Technology” (1 MW, biogas from solid waste landfills),
- LLC “Calipso Biogas” (3.12 MW, corn silo),
- LLC “West Technology Group” (0.63 MW, biogas from a solid waste landfill, AC “Naftogaz Bioenergy” 65% + LLC “Clear Energy” 35%).
The volume of electricity production is 502 million kWh and decreased by 9% compared to 2021. Of the total number of installations, 10 installations did not produce electricity at all, another 10 maintained or increased production volumes, and 21 installations reduced production volumes from 10% to 80% from last year.
The highest rates of the installed capacity usage (at the level of 74-81%) were recorded:
- LLC “Demetra Bioenergy” (0.53 MW),
LLC “Zahid Agroenergoinvest” (1 MW),
LLC “Korsun Eco Energo” (7.5 MW).
For greater clarity, we also publish infographics.
To conclude, the military actions, the increasing of raw materials price, the low level of calculations by SE “Guaranteed Buyer” for the electricity sold on the market (by 53% in 2022) led to a decrease in the volume of electricity production from biomass.
Informative diagrams are available at the link (in Ukrainian).
The analysis was prepared by Yevhen Oliinyk, an expert of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, for the SAF Ukraine.