Equipment from a retired combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Vilnius, Lithuania, has been moved to Ukraine, in what the EC called its ‘largest-ever coordinated logistical operation to date’.

The transfer, coordinated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, has enabled emergency repairs in several parts of Ukraine where energy infrastructure was severely damaged.  

Equipment was taken from the 1,000 MW gas-fired Vilnius CHP Plant 3, which closed in 2016 to be replaced by a biofuel facility. Operated by Ignitis Gamyba, it ran for over 30 years. In a statement last year, the company said the equipment had maintained its full functionality and ‘will work well within Ukraine's energy infrastructure’. For security reasons, information including the names, capacity of the equipment or the power plants it will be transferred to – in other words, the power plant is not being entirely reconstituted – has not been disclosed.  

A statement from the EC noted that: ‘The complex operation, which lasted 11 months, involved 149 equipment deliveries totalling 2,399 tonnes. Of these, 40 were oversized cargo, including extremely heavy transformers and stators weighing approximately 172 tonnes each.’ Support of the Polish Government Agency for Strategic Reserves was said to have played a key role in ensuring the complex transportation of these components.

Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, commented: ‘I thank Lithuania, Poland, Romania and all partners who ensured the success of this colossal operation. It is a powerful demonstration of the EU’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s resilience.’

To date, EU support for Ukraine's energy sector has helped meet the needs of an estimated nine million people, including the delivery of 9,500 power generators and 7,200 transformers via the Civil Protection Mechanism.