vation has been minimal. Also, the European Union, through Euratom, continues to invest billions of ECU into developing nuclear power in the region. Following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, there were numerous energy efficiency studies carried out in Ukraine. These studies developed by institutions such as the World Bank and the European Union have shown a huge potential for energy savings. The Ukrainian government has also set up a State Committee on Energy Conservation which has the task of co-ordinating and implementing a national energy savings strategy. In it's draft document for a 'Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Programme', the Committee has shown that 42-48% of Ukraine's total energy consumption (using 1990 as a base load) could be avoided. A balanced energy policy for any country should aim at energy efficiency with a long-term programme of implementation of renewable sources of energy. Energy from the wind, the sun and the water is constantly available and produces few environmental problems compared with other sources of energy. The treatment of wastes such as biomass, extracting 'Geothermal' energy from the earth and small-scale hydroelectric schemes also offer good possibilities. The official view from many governments around the world, however, is that renewable energy will be unable to provide more than a small proportion of our energy needs until well into the next century. This pessimistic perception is directly related to the lack of funding which has been made available for research and development. The key to success is good planning and a complimentary mix of renewable energy sources. The role that renewable energy sources could play in Central and Eastern Europe is severely underestimated by decision makers. p> The Ukrainian authorities are in favour of wind energy. Development of wind energy technologies and utilization of wind resources are component to it's electricity policy. The Ministry of Power and Electrification set a goal of the year 2010 of putting into operation a wind power production capacity providing not less than 5% of the electricity production of Ukraine, the equivalent of 15TWh. This is a good start, but does not go far enough. There are of course many problems associated with the production and implementation of these kinds of technologies in the region. The biggest is that there is almost no market for this equipment: the producers do not know how to sell the solar panel or wind generators they produce, while potential customers do not know where to buy such installations. This once again underscores the urgent need for government, business and banking co-operation and collaboration.
Geothermal Geothermal energy refers to the heat within the earth's surface that can be recovered and used for practical purposes. The earth's molten core serves as the source of this subterranean heat, which is brought near the surface by underground volcanic activity. Molten rock intrudes into the earth's crust, heating groundwater to create the steam and hot water that are potentially recovered as viable geothermal resources. These "hydrothermal" resources are typically recovered with well-drilling equipment, and then employed near the point of extraction. For generating electricity, hot water is brought to the surface and "flashed" to steam by the release of pressure from specially designed vessels. In regions where geothermal resources are of lesser quality, binary plant technology is often employed. This technology uses the hot water to flash a secondary - or "working" - fluid (one with a lower boiling temperature), thus providing a gas to directly substitute for the steam. The steam is then used to drive a turbine, which consequently operates an attached generator. Internationally, at least 21 of the world's countries generate electricity from geothermal energy, while up to 40 countries use geothermal resources for domestic direct heating purposes.
Wind energy
There is great potential for wind power energy in Ukraine. If, for instance, the 2,700 sq.km. of shallow waters in the Black and Asov Seas were used for wind turbines, this would cover the entire electricity consumption of Ukraine. After the Chernobyl accident, several attempts were made to develop wind turbines in Ukraine. The most successful has been the joint venture Windenergo. It was created as a collaboration of a number of former military companies that have the necessary manufacturing facilities and a USA-based company, Kennetec Windpower. Their first type of wind turbine is a 107-kW turbine, of which three started their operation in May 1993. Now 60 of these turbines are running near Donuzlav Bay in Cremea. A new model of wind turbine has been developed with a capacity of 250 kW. Three turbines of this type are now in operation. Beside the Ukrainian wind turbines, the Windenergo produces parts ...
