Ukraine lacks access to anthracite for Moldova’s thermal power plant

Olena Lapenko, the General Manager of Security and Resilience at DiXi Group, stated this in a comment to Espreso.

"The pulverized coal power units of the Moldavskaya GRES are designed to burn anthracite coal and natural gas, with oil as a backup fuel. Currently, Ukraine does not have access to anthracite coal deposits due to the occupation of part of the territories (Luhansk region and the eastern part of Donetsk region)," said the expert.  

In Olena Lapenko's opinion, Ukraine could supply coal to the Moldavskaya GRES by purchasing it from global markets. The next step would be to transship it at Ukrainian or other ports and deliver it by rail to the plant.  

Regarding the possibility of supplying coal mined in the Lviv-Volyn basin, which belongs to the gas-grade category, to Moldova, this would require the plant to be retrofitted.

"In Ukraine, several stations and power units underwent such a process between 2016-2019, where the type of project fuel changed from anthracite to gas. Specifically, work was carried out on burner modifications, fuel supply system adjustments, boiler operation mode changes, flue gas cleaning system tuning, and optimization of combustion temperature regimes," said Olena Lapenko. "Thus, Ukraine has the specialists and experience it can share if the official authorities in Chișinău request it and if access to equipment is available. However, the issue of funding still needs to be resolved. Specifically, it needs to be determined which party will finance such a project."

What is known about the potential supply of Ukrainian coal to Moldova

Since January 1, 2025, Transnistria has faced a severe energy crisis due to the cessation of Russian gas supplies. The Moldovan Thermal Power Plant (Moldovskaya TPP), the only one in the region, relied on this fuel. As a result, rolling blackouts began in Transnistria, and the plant switched to burning coal, specifically anthracite from Donbas, which was brought in back in 2013 as backup fuel. The Moldovan government has stated that these reserves will only last until the end of January.

• If Ukraine establishes coal supplies to Moldova in exchange for electricity, it will improve the situation of Lviv and Volyn coal mines, which have lost their main consumers due to the destruction of thermal power plants.