Ukraine's Biggest Power Company Plans to Quit Coal by 2035
DTEK wants to switch from coal to natural gas, wind, and nuclear power — and Russia's war is speeding up the change.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, plans to stop using coal completely by 2035. CEO Maxim Timchenko announced the plan at a recovery conference in Gdansk, Poland. The company wants to replace coal power with natural gas, wind, and nuclear energy. It also aims to reach net zero emissions by the year 2050.
Russia's war against Ukraine has forced DTEK to rebuild much of its power infrastructure. Timchenko said about 80% of the equipment at its coal-fired power plants was damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks last winter. Because so much needs to be replaced anyway, the company decided to rebuild with cleaner technology. Repairing all the damage will cost around €300 million.
DTEK signed an agreement with U.S. company GE Vernova to build a new gas-powered plant in western Ukraine. The plant will use a combined-cycle gas turbine and produce 650 megawatts of electricity. That is enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The project has a budget of about €900 million and should be running before 2032.
DTEK is also building a large wind farm in Ukraine's central Poltava region. The wind park will produce 650 megawatts of power, making it the largest onshore wind farm in the region. Timchenko said the company hopes to start construction next year. Wind energy is a key part of DTEK's plan to move away from fossil fuels.
In the longer term, DTEK wants to invest in small modular reactors, a newer kind of nuclear power plant. Timchenko said this would likely happen after 2030, once gas and wind projects are in place. Small modular reactors can be built faster and at lower cost than traditional nuclear plants. DTEK sees nuclear power as an important piece of its future energy mix.
DTEK is also growing its liquefied natural gas, or LNG, business. LNG is natural gas cooled into liquid form so it can be shipped by boat. The company brought in its first cargo of American LNG in December 2024. Timchenko said DTEK hopes to import between six and twelve shipments per year over the next one to two years, and talks are ongoing about importing through Poland.
"So according to the energy strategy of Ukraine, by 2035, coal generation should be phased out."
Comprehension quiz preview
1. What year does DTEK plan to completely stop using coal?
2. What does the word 'infrastructure' most likely mean in this article?
3. Why did DTEK decide to rebuild its power plants with cleaner technology instead of fixing the old coal systems?