Predictive assessment of the Ukrainian power industry fuel balance structure progress

Abstract

The existing structure of the fuel balance in Ukraine does largely determine high prices of such energy products as the electricity and the heat. The main reason lies in the fact that approximately 40% of the fuel balance represents the expensive imported liquid and gaseous fuels. Of course, such balance structure significantly affects the energy security of Ukraine. The article analyzes the three main directions of this situation possible normalization: replacing the imported gas with relatively inexpensive domestic coal burned at boilers and innovative coal-fired burner systems, especially in the low-temperature boilers with fluidized bed furnaces; replacement of imported fuel with respectively cheap pyrolysis gas obtained from the domestic low-grade brown coal; organization of domestic production of shale gas, which industrial production is scheduled for 2020. These promising directions of the national energetics’ fuel balance development can be considered as a priority part of the national tasks of increasing the country’s energy independence.