STUDY TOUR TO DANISH POWER PLANTS – INSPIRATION FOR UKRAINE?

Strengthening Ukraine’s energy security is a strategic priority for Denmark and our energy authorities have collaborated on a broad range of issues since 2014. However, professional/technical knowledge on energy infrastructure is limited in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which is managing the substantial official development assistance provided by Denmark through the strategic framework and country programme, including to the energy sector. To increase our knowledge base, Danish Energy Agency organised a joint study tour to a couple of power plants that embody Danish competences in green power and heating. Among the participants were Jakob Torrild Hansen, Head of the Danish Embassy Office in Mykolaiv, and Nikolaj Lomholt Svensson, Energy Counsellor at the Embassy of Denmark in Ukraine.

The first site was Ørsted’s Avedøre Power Station, situated in iconic buildings just south of Copenhagen. The power station work as a flexible backup for wind turbines and solar cells, ensuring that power is available at all times – even on windless days. During winter season, Avedøre Power Station generates heat corresponding to the consumption of 200,000 households. Like many power plants in Ukraine, Avedøre Power Station has transitioned from burning coal to being a multi-fuel plant. The main fuels are sustainably sourced wood pellets and locally produced straw. The power station has completely stopped using coal. An impressive and inspirational case study for a green transition of Ukraine’s aging power plants.

The second site was ARC – Amager Ressourcecenter, a waste incineration plant famously located under artificial skiing slope CopenHill near the city centre of Copenhagen. Each day, around 200 trucks, many electrically powered, drop off garbage from more than half a million people and 46,000 companies, from as far away as the United Kingdom, preventing landfilling and instead providing heat and power to 140,000 households. It is worth noting that the waste incineration is only the tip of the recycling iceberg. ARC ensures optimal use of the resources contained in the waste in a manner that considers the environment. This starts with the sorting of household waste in ten different categories to treating hazardous waste in an eco-correct manner. Considering the huge challenges with insufficient energy generation and waste disposal many places in Ukraine, including the Mykolaiv region, the ARC-approach is well worth a closer study.