The following is the second installment in a three-part series on the proposed Energy Bridge project, an energy development and regional energy interconnection initiative for Ukraine and its neighbors. In Part 1 of this series, we described the Energy Bridge project and why it is an important initiative for Ukraine. In this Part 2, we discuss the implications of Energy Bridge for the European Union (EU) and other international parties.
Given the importance of Ukraine’s energy and national security for US national interests, the US and its European partners should take a closer look at the merits and risks of Kyiv’s Energy Bridge proposal. At its core, Energy Bridge capitalizes on a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development project to upgrade electricity grid infrastructure in Ukraine to allow for full European grid synchronization. Ukraine has the potential to connect to the EU grid and electricity market and, in turn, to become a reliable electricity exporter to the rest of Europe. Energy Bridge would provide nuclear electricity from Ukraine to Poland using existing transmission lines, thus helping to reduce Europe’s energy and electricity dependence on Russia. Joining multiple gas interconnectors being built across Europe, Energy Bridge represents another opportunity to increase electricity interconnectivity and optionality between the EU and Ukraine.
