Kyiv installs 5 protected mini-CHP plants, 2 more under construction
Kyiv has already assembled five cogeneration units equipped with second-level protection, said Petro Panteleiev, acting first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, according to hromadske’s correspondent.
Five such power plants have been built in total: two are already operational, while commissioning work is underway at the other three.
The combined capacity reaches 66 megawatts. Panteleiev noted that this will not cover the entire city’s consumption but will help maintain power to individual facilities.
“We are purchasing additional units because we see risks — strikes continue targeting gas infrastructure. In our view, diversification is necessary. We have ordered a 20-megawatt diesel power plant and plan to launch it in March,” he said.
According to Panteleiev, the installations are being constructed directly inside protective structures.
In total, 12 billion hryvnias ($278 million) has been spent on the seven units, covering equipment, installation and protective shelters.
Background
In 2024, Kyiv announced a tender for 15 cogeneration units to produce heat and electricity. That same year, the municipal energy company Kyivteploenergo named a Slovak company the winner of the tender to supply units with a total capacity of 40.5 MW.
As Petro Panteleiev explained in an earlier interview with hromadske, these gas-piston mini-CHPs serve as backup power sources for critical infrastructure sites.
“For example, a large heating station (roughly speaking, a major boiler house) stops when electricity is cut off. There are no generators powerful enough to restart it. So this mini-CHP runs to keep the large boiler house operating. Any surplus electricity can then be distributed to nearby buildings,” he said.
Such power plants have a capacity exceeding 20 MW, and each must be individually designed for a specific location and built with protection from the start.
Panteleiev said funding comes partly from the city budget, partly from the municipal energy company Kyivteploenergo, and some equipment has been provided through the UNDP program, i.e., the United Nations.