Efficient buildings and solar roofs can radically change Ukraine's energy profile
July 2, 2024, Kremenchuk - Energy modelling commissioned by Greenpeace CEE suggests that solarising the roofs of Ukraine's kindergartens, schools and hospitals alone would add nearly three times as much electricity to the country's energy mix as the Kakhovka HPP, or half of a large nuclear reactor.
An energy simulation is a part of an extensive multidisciplinary study titled Dnipro River Integrated Vision, developed by Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe and Ro3kvit - Urban Coalition for Ukraine, and shows how Ukraine's kindergartens, schools and hospitals can be the starting point for a comprehensive energy modernisation of the country. The model analyses residential, educational and healthcare buildings in the town of Kremenchuk, in Poltava region, to show how much energy can be saved by improving energy efficiency, introducing new generation heating, and local rooftop solar power production.
"The numbers are staggering," says Hristo Panchev, energy expert at Greenpeace CEE and coordinator within the Green Reconstruction of Ukraine project. “Before the war, Ukraine's economy was among the most energy-intensive in the world. Apart from heavy industry, this is due to the energy-inefficient buildings and energy-intensive district heating. Our model showed that, with appropriate improvements, the country's kindergartens, schools and hospitals could reduce their energy consumption by up to 82%. These are tens of thousands of buildings. Per year, the total area of their roofs can produce nearly three times as much electricity as the Kakhovka HPP before it was destroyed, or more than half the energy of a large nuclear reactor. This would not only cover most of the energy needs of these buildings, but would turn many of them into energy-producing buildings - noted Panchev.
The Dnipro River Integrated Vision covers various aspects related to the state and future of the Dnipro basin, such as water management, energy production and consumption, environmental protection, biodiversity, environmental crimes, safety and security, social and cultural significance.
The Advanced Retrofit Scenario, derived from the analysis of the 35 residential buildings in a neighbourhood in Kremenchuk, shows that a typical apartment block built before 1991 has the potential to reduce its energy consumption by up to 82% by applying proper thermal insulation, and replacing the old heating to a high efficiency district heating heat pump system. In ideal conditions, 1/3 of the energy for all 35 residential buildings could be produced locally by solar panels installed on the roofs.
Green reconstruction of a war torn hospital in Horenka, Ukraine. Solar panels cut electritity bill by half.
The study goes further. Based on real data and on predictive energy modelling for a kindergarten, a secondary school and a hospital in Kremenchuk, it shows that retrofitting, including a high-efficiency heat pump for district heating, reduces total energy consumption by up to 81%. By installing solar panels on the roofs, the kindergarten and school can become positive energy buildings, with an energy surplus of up to 25%, due to their seasonal use.
Solar potential is a focal point of the energy study. All the hospitals, schools and kindergartens in Kremenchuk consume almost 5 GWh of electricity per year. Plus 40 GWh of heat, supplied by district heating, most of which can be saved, as the energy simulations suggest. The total roof area of all these buildings is 130,000 square metres, taking into consideration that not all of this surface could be used for the installation of solar panels, due to shading or construction constraints. But only 1/3 of this area can produce 14 GWh of electricity per year.
The study extrapolates this data to all kindergartens, schools and hospitals across Ukraine. Their total electricity consumption is 710 GWh per year. To put this in perspective, this is exactly half of the annual energy production of the Kakhovka HPP, which was 1420 GWh before it was destroyed on 6 June 2023.
All these buildings cover an area of 35 square kilometres. If 1/3 of it is covered with solar panels, this would give an annual electricity production of 3700 GWh. This is more than half of the annual solar energy production in Ukraine before the war (6600 GWh), or more than half of the energy produced by a large nuclear reactor (6300 GWh). And all this just by solarising one third of roof surfaces on kindergartens, schools and hospitals in the country.
Greenpeace activists in Berlin presenting a giant sunflower made from solar panels in front of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024.