Ukraine has survived three years of massive attacks on its energy system by the aggressor country russia. As it enters the fourth winter of war, Kyiv is relying on a network of huge storage batteries to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
This is discussed in an article by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The USD 140 million program to create battery parks was completed in August this year. As part of the program, battery packs 2.5 meters high each were installed in classified locations.
The publication writes that the total capacity of these parks is 200 megawatts. They are able to provide electricity to about 600,000 homes for two hours, which is equivalent to the power supply of a city the size of Washington, DC. The batteries are connected to the general power grid and, in the event of a power outage, will give Ukrainian engineers time to fill in the gaps and regulate the power supply, offering an alternative source of energy.
To avoid being targeted, the batteries' locations are not being disclosed. Details of the measures taken to protect them from russian air attacks also remain secret.
Although the new network is the largest in Ukraine, it is not the first. In 2021, a similar battery park was built in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region, which was occupied in the first days of the full-scale invasion. A few hours before the arrival of the russian army, DTEK employees deleted the software, turning the batteries into "expensive bricks" that became practically useless.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on October 4, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine appealed for international assistance after a massive russian attack on energy infrastructure.
We also wrote that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the West for the lack of a "strong" reaction to russian strikes on energy infrastructure.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.