Support to Ukrainian municipalities in the establishment of spatial municipal energy plans (MEPs)

Energy consumption for heat is one of the main sources for CO₂ emissions and a crucial factor for the acceleration of climate change. In Ukrainian cities, heat supply is largely based on emission-intensive fossil fuels which are to a large extent imported, while the locally available potential of renewable energy sources and waste heat remains unexploited. The GIZ mission is addressing this shortcoming and the corresponding improvement potentials by providing support to Ukrainian partner municipalities in developing a sustainable and efficient local heat supply that uses the locally available energy potentials.

The mission is part of the overarching technical cooperation project “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine (FEER)” which is implemented by the GIZ with involvement of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It supports the strategic energy planning in selected Ukrainian pilot municipalities and builds upon the Swiss concept of spatial municipal energy planning. This concept coordinates the local energy demand for heat, the existing heat infrastructure and the assessed locally available renewable energy and waste heat potential, resulting in a sustainable and efficient heat supply strategy and the exploitation of non-fossil energy sources available on the municipal territory.

Experienced in the establishment of spatial energy plans and associated action plans, ENCO supports Ukrainian municipalities in the application of this spatially oriented methodology that comes with numerous advantages, including

• a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions through heat supply and a large contribution to decarbonization and the achievement of local energy targets,
• the decrease of import dependency,
• the exploitation of locally available resources and associated benefits for local companies,
• short supply chains and a reduction of energy losses,
• supply security.

The spatial orientation of the applied methodology facilitates silo-breaking and coordination with municipal spatial plans, and resultingly well-coordinated urban development towards a sustainable energy future.

The implementation consortium under the Lead of GFA (Hamburg) consists of international and national experts and combines Swiss expertise with the Ukrainian partners’ sound knowledge of the national and local context.