Blitz interview with Vadym Lytvynenko, Executive Director of Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC, for reform.energy by Interfax-Ukraine
– Your company has announced that in August 2024, it was one of the first companies in Ukraine to put into operation a 24 MW gas turbine unit in central Ukraine. Why did you choose GTUs?
– The rapid construction of gas turbine units and their connection to the grid is a logical solution to the challenging situation we face in the domestic energy system. The conditions of wartime in Ukraine demand fundamentally new approaches to the implementation of power generation projects.
I believe the experience of Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC, which put into operation a Mitsubishi gas turbine unit with a capacity of 23.8 MW in central Ukraine in August 2024, can be considered an important step in this direction. The enterprise acted as the contractor, whereas the unit itself was installed in the regional energy company’s network.
– How long did it take to connect the unit?
– The implementation of the project took just a few months. To be precise, Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC managed to complete this project from scratch, which resulted in energy delivery to the grid in just 4 months setting a precedent in global practice.
Under normal conditions, connecting a gas turbine unit of this class and capacity to the grid for continuous electricity generation would take at least 11 months.
– How was this achieved?
– Thanks to the innovative solutions implemented during construction. You see, our company’s experience in installing gas turbine units is unique. This is one of the first cases of installing and operating such generating equipment in Ukraine, especially when it comes to units like Mitsubishi. Traditionally, gas reciprocating generator units with installed capacities from 100 kW to 2-3 MW have been used in the Ukrainian market. Thus, we had to find solutions by ourselves, without relying on anyone else’s experience, and make decisions during the work.
Apart from that, we reached an agreement with the client that all technical solutions at each stage of the project were approved step by step, meanwhile, the full construction project was being prepared. This allowed us to conduct operations that were not chronologically dependent on each other at the same time.
– Besides the lack of experience, what other problems did you face?
– The lack of experience of work with such equipment was certainly not the main issue, especially taking into account that our company had already designed and installed gas reciprocating units at critical infrastructure sites in the Chernihiv oblast.
The problem was different: both gas reciprocating and gas turbine stations are considered as backup or emergency power sources worldwide. They operate independently from the power grid, temporarily supplying electricity to a specific facility. The installation is set up at any site and connected to the consumer with separate cables, which is typically done within one to two weeks.
However, Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC had to deal with a fundamentally different task – the gas turbine station needed to be used as a permanent power supply source. Therefore, it was necessary to complete the full scope of work to connect it to the grid.
The first problem to be solved was synchronizing the operation of the unit with the existing grid.
In Ukraine, there are no more than ten specialists who can perform calculations for the dynamic stability of the energy system, i.e., synchronize new generation with the grid. One of them is our specialist Yurii Pryvalov, and it is thanks to him that we were able to start delivering energy to the grid within four months.
The second issue was solving the problem of the operational modernization of the existing distribution equipment. In Ukraine, the nodes of most distribution devices and transformer substations are already worn out and need to be replaced. Connecting the most modern generating equipment to them without replacing the equipment is problematic.
Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC has extensive experience in the modernization of distribution equipment, but we should note that the “core” of most distribution devices consists of components from global manufacturers like Schneider, Siemens, ABB, and other global manufacturers. The delivery time for such components is at least 6 months. We didn’t have that much time.
However, the equipment of the required level was prepared by Hrupa Kompanii Vysokovoltni Tekhnologii LLC, which is part of the ENERGO-PLUS consortium. Oleksandr Borshchenko, the Head of the company, got involved in the project ensuring that the modernization of the distribution equipment was conducted in a timely manner.
I would also like to stress that the customer representatives, the regional energy company, and the ENERGO-PLUS specialists worked together as a united team from the very beginning, hence the speed and high quality of all the work done.
EXTRA INFORMATION: Ukrainian company Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS LLC was established in 2013. The scope of their main activities embrace the design, development, and implementation of industrial automation systems, power supply, and various electrical systems for Ukrainian enterprises and private companies.
It is part of an international group of companies together with Research and Production Enterprise Preobrazovatelnaya Tekhnika LLC, Hrupa Kompanii Vysokovoltni Tekhnologii LLC, the Ukrainian ENERGO-PLUS consortium, and TWERD Energo-Plus Sp. z o.o., the Polish manufacturer.
- Vadym Lytvynenko, Executive Director of ENERGO-PLUS, was born on October 25, 1975.
In 2001, he graduated from Kremenchuk University of Economics, Information Technologies, and Management with a degree in Systems Engineering for Control Systems and Automation.
In 2003, Vadym graduated from the National Technical University of Ukraine in Kyiv (Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute) with a degree in Energy Management.
In 2004, he was qualified as a heat power engineer by the Ukrainian State Chemical Technology University in Thermal Power Engineering.
In 2019, Vadym graduated from Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University with a degree in Law.
Source:
portal reform.energy
