Pushing to reduce dependence on Russian gas, Ukraine is speeding ahead with its drive to convert its gas-fired power stations to burn the country' plentiful coal supplies, and has completed conversions at six generation plants, with another five in planning, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced on August 29.
Kyiv has been talking about weening its power industry off gas for nearly 20 years, but it has taken a long drawn out fight with Moscow over gas prices to push it into action. Bleeding money to pay for increasingly expensive Russian gas imports, the government has become ever more desperate to find an alternative fuel source. Being home to some of the largest coal deposits in Europe, it doesn’t have to look too far.
