Winter Test: How Small Communities Build Energy Autonomy and Prepare for Possible Blackouts?

According to village head Yuriy Bezrodnyi on the air of the joint project of the local media network Gromada Group and the Kharkiv Press Club "Voice of the Community", preparations for winter in the community continue uninterrupted. As of today, absolutely all social institutions — schools, the gymnasium, cultural institutions, administrative buildings, and the medical outpatient clinic — are fully equipped with autonomous power sources (generators).

The main task of the current stage is forming a backup fuel fund. The procurement procedure for the required volumes of fuel is currently underway so that in the event of a total blackout, the community's social sphere operates without the slightest failures or delays.

However, using diesel or gasoline generators is a forced and temporary measure. Kitaihorod's strategic course is aimed at renewable energy and on-site generation.

"Our goal is to fully equip social and educational institutions with solar panels and energy storage systems. We strive to be completely independent of external factors and work in the usual mode under any conditions," stresses the head of the community after concluding the cooperation agreement with the Kernel agricultural holding.

The experience of Kitaihorod proves: the decentralization reform provided communities with the main thing — the right and tools to be masters of their own land.

"Gromada" Continues to Spread the Experience of Energy Independence

On the eve of another difficult winter, the issue of community energy resilience arises in all its sharpness. The enemy continues to destroy critical infrastructure in an attempt to freeze Ukrainian cities and villages.

However, at the level of local self-government, a clear understanding is crystallizing: community safety is the responsibility of local authorities and the community itself.

As a reminder, in the article "Energy Salvation: Is There a Chance for Ukrainian Cities to Survive the Winter" we searched for answers to alarming questions: how Ukrainian cities can withstand total blackouts, protect critical infrastructure, and not freeze in winter under constant shelling.

And in the article "After the Kharkiv Press Club Broadcast: How Scientists Propose Solving Energy Problems" scientists and experts provided clear calculations: the only salvation lies in the immediate decentralization of generation, the creation of autonomous "energy islands," and the use of renewable sources.

Today, the Avangard TC in the Odesa region has built its own autonomous survival system; while the head of the Trostyanets community Yuriy Bova reported on how in Trostyanets they are already implementing "in metal" what scientists and experts in the field of community energy efficiency are talking about.

By the end of 2027, in Medzhybizh, Khmelnytskyi region, the community decided to commission two new SPPs.— an American investment project for 5 MW and a local facility for 1.25 MW, the construction of which starts this autumn.

·         100% provision of basic facilities with generators and fuel reserves;

·         Development of solar generation in partnership with responsible business and grant funds;

·         Rapid adaptation of the municipal sector to an autonomous operating mode.

It is precisely such systematic work on the ground that guarantees that no plans of the enemy to freeze Ukraine will succeed.