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New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Power on the front lines of war
26/3/2025
8 min read
Feature
Maxim Timchenko, Chief Executive of private Ukrainian utility DTEK, spoke at International Energy Week about the company’s experiences of surviving, and surprisingly even expanding renewable energy initiatives in a time of war, against all odds. Timchenko was interviewed by International Energy Week Board Member and former US Department of Energy Senior Advisor Melissa Stark. Below is an edited version of this fascinating discussion.
Q: What role does DTEK play in terms of Ukraine’s power generation? How do you continue to operate under the pressures of war and still respond to the demands of the energy transition?
A: DTEK is the largest energy company in Ukraine, born in Donetsk. We have been under Russian occupation since 2014, but we have kept developing. Starting from coal and thermal power generation, we are now the country’s largest renewables company.
Twenty years ago, when we set up this company, we formulated a mission statement to bring light and warmth. But since then, especially after three years of full-scale invasion, our lives have changed and the mission is now that ‘energy powers life’.
Our company has been attacked more than 200 times since February 2022. In July 2024, about 90% of our generation capacity was damaged or destroyed. But daily attacks don’t stop us fighting. We call it an energy war.