The Cabinet of Ministers exempts floating power plants from the need to go through auctions

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved measures to organize the installation of gas piston or gas turbine units located on specialized vessels intended for the production of electricity.

According to the respective resolution published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers, a number of amendments are introduced to governmental resolutions.

In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed to conclude agreements without open bidding on:

• purchase of gas piston, gas turbine cogeneration units, their components or their lease;
• rental services (charter, leasing, etc.) of technical fleet vessels with gas piston or gas turbine units intended for electricity generation,
• services for hiring personnel for such installations;
• goods, works and services related to the construction of installations, commissioning, implementation of measures for the design, construction or reconstruction of electric and gas networks necessary to ensure the possibility of power output, connection of such installations to electric, gas and other networks;
• services for the design, maintenance, scheduled and unscheduled repairs of such installations for fuel and energy companies to prepare for the 2024/25 heating season.

The Cabinet of Ministers also exempted such power plant vessels from the need to obtain a number of permits from the SACI related to land plots.

In June 2024, Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional administration, said at a briefing that he was negotiating with Turkey to deploy floating power plants in key ports on the Black Sea and Danube to cover the electricity shortage.

Last February, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yahmur Ahmet Guldere discussed the use of Turkish floating power plants to supply electricity to Ukraine during a meeting.

In January 2023, the state energy trader, joint-stock company Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU), signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with the Turkish company Karpowership in the field of electricity supply and the use of floating power plants to overcome the energy deficit in Ukraine.

At the end of November 2022, Karpowership announced that it was negotiating the deployment of floating power plants to Ukraine to supply electricity as Russia intensifies its attacks on civilian infrastructure.

The possibility of deploying three floating power units with a total capacity of 300 megawatts near Odesa was considered.

However, in early December, the company's president, Zeynep Harezi, said that the company had been in talks with the Odesa Regional Military Administration, but they said that any property going to Ukraine could not be insured at the moment. Therefore, the UMA would not be able to guarantee the company the safety of the vessels.

Кирило Бойко