NOS
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 20:30
Wessel de Jong
news reporter
Wessel de Jong
news reporter
As the end of the year approaches, Ukraine is preparing for another long winter, with possible renewed Russian attacks on the electricity grid. But in some places Ukrainians have armed themselves against those attacks.
Igor Roedoje looks at the monitor of his solar panels with a satisfied look. “You see, we now produce about twice as much as we consume.” But that doesn’t make him any wiser. In Ukraine, returning electricity to the grid is not yet possible. Solar energy is still in its infancy.
Rudoje is the technical director of four GP clinics north of the capital Kyiv. The post in the village of Horenka has had solar panels since this spring. The first goal is energy independence. The reduction of CO2 is a bonus, but is not the main issue here.
‘Everything was broken’
“The reason was the trouble we had in February 2022,” the technical director says about the start of the war. The village of Horenka is close to the Hostomel airport, which the Russians tried to capture in the first days of the invasion.
“There was heavy fighting here. Everything was shot at. The roof, the heating, the energy supply, everything was broken,” says Roedoje. “Thanks to Greenpeace and a number of donors, we are now one of the first in Ukraine with solar panels.”
‘Build back better’
“We don’t want our partners’ reconstruction money to be spent on inefficient old technology that will perpetuate energy dependence and only increase CO2 emissions,” said Denys Tsutsaiev of Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe. Build back better is the principle of environmental organization in Ukraine.
Greenpeace is looking for cities in Europe that want to help with projects such as in Horenka. The installation in the battered village cost 56,000 euros. In principle, this can be recouped in about six or seven years.
Large-scale Russian attacks
But the most important goal is that doctors can continue to provide care to the population, even if the Russians attack Ukraine’s energy supply again this winter. From October last year to April, the Russians fired around 1,200 missiles and drones, shutting down about half the electricity grid.
NOSRoedoje with his solar panels: “Russia can’t do anything to us,” he says
“We are not afraid of anything this winter. Our practice is maximally protected,” says Roedoje. “We also have generators, we have a heat pump. Russia cannot do anything to us. They can damage the power stations, damage the transport of electricity, but we will remain energy independent.”
But it will be winter, and it will be dark here. Do those panels produce enough energy? Roedoje is optimistic. The panels are new, and winter can help too. “We will soon be able to generate enough thanks to the reflection of the snow.”
Power companies are bracing themselves
And the patients? Most don’t have solar panels, how do they look ahead to winter? Full of confidence, says a man in the renovated waiting room. “We have power banks, firewood and warm clothing. We cannot afford solar panels. We are refugees from Mariupol.”
Solar panels will remain the exception for a while. That is why electricity companies must brace themselves for possible new Russian attacks. Grid operator DTEK has reinforced its transformer houses, but the company does not want to reveal much more than that about the safety measures taken.
Serhii Boeriak is the head of DTEK in Butcha, near Horenka: “We understand that the enemy does not sleep. We have also carried out exercises and training in cooperation with the emergency services. In the event of a rocket attack and damage to our network, everyone knows what he must do.”
2023-11-03 19:30:19
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