Proposal 6: heat production

The production of heat (home heating and hot water production) is a separate major challenge. Oil-, gas- and coal-fired power plants produce a significant proportion of the calories needed to combat the cold, which are then distributed by thousands of kilometres of piping, often in the open air. But all these systems are regularly targeted by Russian strikes..

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Faced with this situation, the Ukrainians are making considerable efforts to develop alternative modalities, including cogeneration, by building small and medium-sized power plants in dispersed (and therefore less vulnerable) locations in eastern cities. However, much remains to be done before this technology becomes widespread in Ukraine. Work is also underway on the use of wood to improve existing practices in rural areas.

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We propose that France's expertise in district heating, geothermal energy (e.g. CPCU) and the production of heat from biomass and domestic waste be mobilized, and that priority be given to the supply of cogeneration plants.

Proposal 7: Support Ukraine in its quest for energy resilience

In Ukraine, a developed country that is very cold in winter and increasingly affected by summer heat waves, economic activity, well-being and access to basic services are entirely dependent on energy. Faced with Russian bombardment of its facilities (whose location and vulnerabilities are well known to Moscow), Ukraine has opted for a strategy of energy resilience.

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We propose to support this strategy, which is based on a combination of approaches and solutions:

• decentralization and dispersion of production resources, making them more difficult to target;

• the combined use of hybrid systems comprising conventional generation, alternative generation based on renewable energies (solar panels, wind turbines, biomass, etc.) and energy storage;

• redundancy, with switchover between grid and batteries as required (see proposal 4 above), which also helps to increase system resilience.

Proposal 8: The quest for greater energy efficiency

Stemming from the Soviet years and post-independence difficulties, Ukrainian energy production, distribution and utilisation facilities show many systemic weaknesses.

Huge savings are possible in water pumping and treatment systems, in hospitals as well as in housing and industry. In the short term, energy efficiency could be increased not only by developing cogeneration (heat + electricity), but also by thermal insulation work, and by replacing machines, pumps, networks, etc., all of which would lead to significant reductions in consumption, and therefore "less" demand on energy production systems, which are under extreme pressure.

We propose to offer strategic support to better diagnose leak locations, identify technical options and supply more energy-efficient equipment, as well as substantial resources to insulate essential public buildings (hospitals, schools, etc.) and rebuild homes with better thermal insulation.