MODERN TRENDS OF THE UKRAINIAN ENERGY MARKET DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The primary focus of this paper is on favorable geographical and geopolitical position of Ukraine which provides good opportunities to unlock a vast nation’s potential for further sustainable socioeconomic development and efficient energy supply to all sectors of the national economy and the society. It is emphasized that Ukraine is one of the world's largest transporters of fuel and energy resources (FER) to Europe. This is confirmed by the availability of large coal and uranium reserves, a well-developed infrastructure for the transportation of oil, gas, electrical and thermal energy sources as well as installed capacity of power plants which is sought to ensure and meet all future needs of the country's economy for primary energy. Given the insufficiency of Ukraine's own oil and gas reserves, the research hypothesis is the need to harness the potential of diversification of primary energy supply, to promote energy efficiency methods and tools as well as to apply the latest technologies in renewable energy generation and use. The purpose of this study is to identify the modern global trends in energy market development and their implementation in Ukraine. To attain the goals set, the following research methods were used: a historical and logical method – to explore the patterns of Ukrainian energy market development; statistical analysis – to determine the macroeconomic factors affecting the world and Ukrainian energy markets. The results of the study have revealed the following 9 global trends in the development of the energy market: a rapid increase in demand for electricity; expanding the utilization of traditional types of natural gas along with increasing the volumes of unconventional gas production; commercialization of clean coal technologies; nuclear power industry revival; renewable energy sector development; enhancing management structure and monitoring of energy networks, implementation of intelligent technologies; boosting energy efficiency; further development of highly efficient energy conservation systems; building highly efficient energy storage systems. Their implementation specifics in the Ukrainian national settings is investigated. A conclusion is made that of all the above global trends in energy development and use, among the key priorities for Ukraine are the following: the rational use of energy; increasing energy efficiency and social responsibility in this area; reducing CO₂emissions; implementation of digital technologies into the process of strategically important types of energy production; expanding the use of renewable energy sources.