With its power system having come under attack leaving many Ukrainians without consistent supplies of electricity, state energy trader JSC "Energy Company of Ukraine" signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with Turkey’s Karpowership. The companies plan to work together to explore adding power to Ukraine’s grid.

"Ukraine's energy system was subjected to 12 massive Russian attacks. The deficit of electricity due to damage to the generating infrastructure of Ukraine is increasing,” said Vitaly Butenko, General Director of EKU JSC. “While the war continues, building new power units to restore lost or damaged generating capacity is impossible, and we need to find innovative solutions to overcome the current crisis.”

The companies, together with national and international organizations, plan to develop a project to finance and launch 500 MW of electric power from energy ships. They believe that Karpowership’s technology would allow for relatively quick deployment of new generating capacity. Karpowership currently has a fleet of 36 energy ships with operations in 13 countries. According to the company, the vessels which operate on multi-fuel, natural gas/LNG, low-sulfur liquid fuel, can be directly connected to existing infrastructure in less than 30 days.

"Karpowership is glad to cooperate with EKU JSC to alleviate the energy crisis in Ukraine," said Zeynep Kharezi, Commercial Director of Karpowership. "Energy ships are a fast, reliable, and flexible solution for reducing the electricity deficit in the country, and we are ready to support Ukraine in obtaining the necessary energy as soon as possible."

As part of the cooperation, the partners will explore options for locating the energy ships near the coasts of Moldova and Romania. They highlight that it would be possible to connect the vessels to their power grids and transfer current to the energy system of Ukraine through interstate power lines. They plan to involve the governments of Moldova and Romania to evaluate this possibility.

Ukrainian officials point to the use of floating power plants as a means to overcome the energy deficit in Ukraine. They believe it would be possible to provide enough electricity for one million families in Ukraine.