KNESS at the event by Razom We Stand in cooperation with SDIA

Serhii Kravchuk, Director of Electricity Trading and Supply in KNESS, participated in the round table “Increasing the Energy Resilience of Communities: Regulatory and Practical Aspects of Distributed Generation Implementation in Ukraine”. The event was initiated by Razom We Stand in cooperation with SDIA and the Reforms Office of the Ministry of Energy, bringing together representatives of NGOs, government and business. Together, the participants discussed challenges in the industry and developed solutions to liberalize the operation of distributed generation, accelerate the development of microgrids and reconstruction of grids by distribution system operators.

In his speech Serhii Kravchuk outlined the peculiarities of implementing distributed generation with connection to consumer grids.

Key takeaways from the expert’s presentation:

• Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in public interest in solar power plant projects in combination with energy storage facilities, including connection to the consumer’s internal grids. Due to the significant amount of renewable energy sources in the grid (including distributed generation), we have a positive effect which is reducing the number and length of interruptions in electricity supply to consumers. At the same time, solar power plants together with energy storage facilities enable the transfer of electricity generated by solar power plants during evening peak hours, when the electricity price is quite high due to increased demand.
• With the adoption of the Law of Ukraine No. 3220-IX, a new subject of the energy market called an “active consumer” emerges. The peculiarity of an active consumer is the possibility of selling electricity to the external grid by the mechanism of self-production during hours when the generation volume of its own power plant exceeds consumption. In this case, the installed capacity of the generating facility (within one metering site) cannot exceed 5 MW. However, provided that the entire volume of electricity produced will be consumed within the consumer’s perimeter, the need for licensing arises only if the installed capacity of the generating facility exceeds 20 MW.
• Active consumers can get an additional positive economic effect by joining the balancing of the power grid (a service for the transmission system operator or balancing group). To do this, the law provides for the possibility of aggregating the electrical installations of active consumers. In European practice, an aggregator can also provide its services to distribution system operators. Given the constant growth in the number and capacity of distributed generation facilities, solar power plants, and energy storage facilities, KNESS sees prospects in implementing the aggregator model to provide ancillary services and power system balancing services.
• The current legislative framework in Ukraine provides an opportunity to move towards the implementation of European practices of decentralized generation, which is especially important for our country. The implementation of renewable energy facilities with connection to the consumer’s internal grids can be carried out on the terms of a corporate power purchase agreement. At the same time, electrical installations of an active consumer can participate in the processes of balancing the electric power system independently or through an aggregator, as well as receive guarantees of origin for the clean energy production. KNESS is actively integrating new approaches to the implementation of renewable energy projects, accelerating Ukraine’s green transformation.