vgbe energy journal 11 (2022) - International Journal for Generation and Storage of Electricity and Heat

Power News
daily electricity consumption averaged
251mn kWh, a 47% drop compared to the
same time last year.
Cut offs are critical to curtailing demand
and plugging deficits in the power system
but can also have a devastating human cost
as a steady power supply is essential to other
utilities like water and heating. This problem
is most acute in Ukrainian cities which
rely on district heating and where a lack of
hot water can cause pipes to freeze and
break. With winter just beginning, the prolonged
absence of either is likely to trigger
an upsurge in illness through exposure to
cold temperatures or alternatively deadly
particles as citizens resort to burning wood
or coal to heat their homes and cook.
Keeping the lights on
Ukraine’s energy sector has worked with
incredible determination and bravery to repair
and maintain its critical infrastructure
in response to this onslaught. But the network
is vulnerable to repeat attacks. Transformers
and sub stations are large, exposed
targets and once fixed can easily be hit
again.
While military aid for air defence systems
is essential to protecting this equipment,
equally important is that Ukrainian operators
have the replacement parts necessary to
bring power and heat quickly back online.
Although these companies had built up
stocks before the conflict, these are now
dangerously low and further replacement
parts are often not readily available.
The problem is not that Ukrainian power
operators are unable to afford or purchase
additional equipment but that production
lead times are too long. The production of
compatible transformers or switches is not
done on mass but is project-specific, meaning
utilities would have to wait up to a year
for the manufacturing and delivery of equipment
that is needed today. And this timescale
does not factor in manufacturers’ already
existing orders from other utilities,
orders that are typically made two years in
advance.
Considering this gulf between equipment
lead times and equipment needs, it is essential
that Ukrainian power operators are given
access to compatible stockpiles in the
warehouses and factories of other European
energy companies or in national strategic
reserves. These resources can be quickly
transported to Ukraine and installed, making
a rapid contribution to the conditions of
millions of Ukrainian citizens.
How the European power sector
can contribute
The European Union, through both direct
financial aid and its Civil Protection Mechanism
has been a consistent source of humanitarian
aid for Ukraine. In response to Russia’s
attempt to cripple Ukraine’s energy
system, this aid is increasingly focused on
supporting this critical infrastructure. Earlier
this week [25/11], European Commission
President Ursula Von der Leyen announced
that the Union’s rescue reserve would release
40 heavy generators, 200 medium-sized
transformers as well as a large and
a medium-sized auto-transformer.
More equipment will be needed. For companies
or third parties willing and able to
help, the best way to become involved is to
contact the Energy Community Secretariat.
Based in Austria, this organisation makes
use of their Ukraine Support Task Force and
Ukraine Energy Support Fund to coordinate
between donors, suppliers, the EU, and the
Ministry of Energy of Ukraine. Working
closely with the Commission’s Directorate-General
for European Civil Protection
and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG
ECHO) the Energy Community ensures the
prompt delivery of specialised energy
equipment, materials needed for repairs,
and fuels.
The Ukraine Support Task Force can provide
donor companies and other organisations
with a regularly updated list of urgently
needed equipment so that they can match
it what they have in stock. The secretariat
will then assist donors with administration,
customs, and transportation free of charge.
They can be contacted here: UkraineEmergencySupport@energy-community.org.
As Russia has failed to find success on the
background it has increasingly reached for
methods that lash out directly at Ukraine’s
civilian population. The fixation on Ukrainian
energy infrastructure as millions of people
rely on it to get through the coldest
months of the year is the latest manifestation
of this strategy. Europe, its governments,
citizens, and companies should do
their utmost to protect Ukrainians from this
use of winter as an indiscriminate weapon.
LL
www.eurelectric.org (223521216)
102 Millionen Euro für die
zukünftige Energiemodellregion
Lausitz
(btu) Wissenschaftsministerin Dr. Manja
Schüle und Sandra Langhof-Siewert von der
Staatskanzlei des Landes Brandenburg
übergeben den Zuwendungsbescheid an das
neue Energie-Innovationszentrum (EIZ) der
BTU. Über 90 Wissenschaftler*innen aus 14
Fachgebieten forschen gemeinsam mit mehr
als 40 Partnereinrichtungen an der effektiven
und effizienten Energieversorgung der
Zukunft.
Cottbus entwickelt sich derzeit zu einem
der dynamischsten Energieforschungsstandorte
Deutschlands. Denn: Die Bundesregierung
hat sich mit der Energiewende ein
ambitioniertes Ziel gesetzt, für dessen Erreichung
grundlegende Veränderungen unserer
Systeme für die Energieversorgung notwendig
sind. Eine Herausforderung insbesondere
für die Lausitz als traditionellem
Zentrum der Braunkohlenförderung und
-verstromung: Sie muss sich neu aufstellen.
Deshalb entwickeln in einem neuen Forschungs-Cluster
Wissenschaftler*innen der
Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität
Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) und eines
interdisziplinären Partnernetzwerks innovative
Technologien für eine klimaneutrale
Energieversorgung. Das vom Bundesministerium
für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
geförderte „Energie-Innovationszentrum“
(EIZ) an der BTU will weltweite Impulse setzen:
Die Partner sehen den Schlüssel für den
globalen Umbau des Energiesektors in der
gezielten Vernetzung der verschiedenen
Energiesysteme und -sektoren sowie der
verschiedenen Systemakteure.
Bundesforschungsministerin Bettina
Stark-Watzinger erklärt hierzu: „Mit dem
neuen Energie-Innovationszentrum gestalten
wir aktiv den Strukturwandel des Lausitzer
Reviers zu einer zukunftsfähigen Energieregion.
14 Fachgebiete und Lehrstühle
der BTU arbeiten zusammen mit über 40
Partnern aus Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft
an Technologien und Lösungen für eine klimaneutrale
Energieversorgung, die längst
nicht nur in der Lausitz Anwendung finden
sollen. Die Energiekrise zeigt, wie groß die
Herausforderungen sind, vor denen wir stehen.
Das Bundesministerium für Bildung
und Forschung fördert das Energie-Innovationszentrum
über zehn Jahre mit insgesamt
84 Millionen Euro. Mit diesen Geldern werden
über 70 neue Stellen für Wissenschaftlerinnen
und Wissenschaftler geschaffen.
Dabei sind nicht nur Innovationen unser
Ziel, sondern auch zukunftsträchtige Arbeitsplätze
und nachhaltige Wertschöpfung
in der Region.“
Anlässlich der Übergabe des Zuwendungsbescheides
sagte Brandenburgs Forschungsministerin
Dr. Manja Schüle: „Die Energiewende
in Deutschland führt uns weg von
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