USAID to help Ukraine reform its district heating sector
The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the district heating sector's resilience, efficiency, and competitiveness.
That's according to the USAID Energy Security Project, Ukrinform reports.
Per the Memorandum, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Energy Security Project, will support the Ministry of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine in reforming the country's district heating sector at municipal and national levels and enhancing its energy sustainability through distributed energy generation, renewable energy utilization, and district heating modernization.
"Reforming the energy sector according to the best practices of the European Union, optimization of the municipal heat supply system of Ukraine, popularization of large-scale introducing a decentralized energy supply, integrating various renewable energy sources, and increasing energy efficiency will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy system and increase Ukraine’s energy security. I am grateful to the American partners for their willingness to help Ukraine on the way to the transformation and modernization of our energy system," said Oleksandr Butenko, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.
The memorandum paves the way for developing policies and creating structures to integrate coordinated, long-term development of district heating systems in municipal planning.
According to Michael Trainor, the USAID Energy Security Project Chief of Party, the parties will work on refining the regulatory framework for the district heating sector to bolster its financial sustainability.
"To improve the resilience of heating infrastructure and ensure energy supply to critical infrastructure facilities in local communities, we will focus on developing a pipeline of investment projects for distributed cogeneration using diverse energy sources and building technical capacity for municipalities and sector stakeholders in addition to a specific focus on developing regulations for distributed cogeneration in district heating systems," Trainor said.
The collaboration extends beyond immediate needs to support strategic planning for the post-war recovery of the heat supply sector.
It also includes raising public awareness of district heating reforms and legislative changes to enhance understanding of the impact of district heating reforms on strengthening energy security in Ukraine.
Photo: USAID