The USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) is supporting 12 municipalities in Ukraine to develop municipal heat supply schemes to modernize and improve district heating (DH) systems to increase the sustainability and resilience of their heat supply, improve service provision, and increase energy efficiency.
The City Councils of Slavutych, Lutsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Okhtyrka have already approved the ESP-proposed strategies to modernize district heating and introduce energy-saving technologies at all phases of the heat supply process. Heat supply schemes for Poltava and Kherson are in the final stage of development.
As an example, the heat supply scheme of Slavutych, approved in February 2024, provides a set of optimal technical solutions for the sustainable development and operation of an efficient heat supply system in the city. It aims to:
increase energy efficiency, quality, reliability, and environmental sustainability of the municipal heat supply system;
gradually replace traditional sources (currently, natural gas) based on fossil fuels with renewable energy sources (RES), which will account for at least 25% of heat generation, and with efficient cogeneration and waste heat energy; and
reduce heat losses in heating networks to a level not exceeding 10%.
The development of the 10-year Slavutych Heat Supply Strategy took a little over 1.5 years.
USAID ESP presented several scenarios to the municipality during that time, recommending the most optimal one.
The recommended scenario envisages the operation of the city’s central boiler house and independent heat producers in Slavutych.
The proposed strategy also aims to expand third-party access to the heat generation segment and suggests ways to increase renewable fuels and alternative energy sources.
Measures proposed include installing energy-efficient frequency-controlled line pumps, wood chip-fired boilers with an ORC turbine module, individual heat substations (IHS), partial replacement of main pipelines and distribution networks, partial reconstruction of the city’s central boiler house, etc.
These measures will ensure significant natural gas and electricity savings, increase the share of heat generated from renewable energy sources, and reduce CO2 emissions.
Most importantly, the net savings for the municipality may amount to more than UAH 200 million over ten years.
A heat supply scheme is a tool to plan long-term heat supply for residential settlements. When developing heat supply schemes, USAID ESP experts conduct extensive analytical and calculation work, allowing individualized design solutions for each city.
In addition, legislative requirements are considered, in particular, the Law of Ukraine “On Heat Supply” and the Law of Ukraine “On Energy Efficiency,” as well as the Methodology for Developing Heat Supply Schemes for Residential Settlements of Ukraine (approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure on 10/02/2020) that regulate the issues of municipal heat and power sector.
These issues include the sustainable operation of district heating systems, their technological modernization and development to improve the quality of service provision, and the transition to the maximum possible share of renewable heat energy sources.
All these factors support energy efficiency and the transition to green energy as part of Ukraine’s process toward integration into the EU.
