MARGINAL POSSIBILITIES OF CENTRALIZED HEAT SUPPLY REGARDING THE USE OF ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES

The article presents the results of a study on the use of electricity from solar and wind power plants by the centralized heat supply of Ukraine for its direct conversion into heat using electric heat generators (electric boilers and heat pumps). The marginal possibilities of the centralized heat supply of Ukraine regarding the use of this heat energy, which is the purpose of this work, have been assessed. To carry out the analysis, a calculation model was created, limitations were set, and methodical approaches were developed to determine the necessary initial data. Research was conducted for heating and non-heating periods. In the non-heating period, four different options for using electricity from solar and wind power plants for its conversion into heat were simulated. The results of the calculations showed that as of 2021, during the heating period, the demand for thermal energy significantly exceeds the possibilities of its production by electric heat generators that consume electricity from solar and wind power plants. The limit value is the total capacity of solar and wind power plants of 18.514 MW. In the non-heating period, all the electricity produced by solar and wind power plants cannot be fully consumed by electric heat generators of centralized heat supply due to the fact that there will be a surplus of heat energy of 1736.4 thousand MWh. 21.7 million m3 of water will be needed to accumulate this amount of thermal energy with seasonal thermal accumulators. With an average volume of a seasonal heat accumulator of 60,000 m3, you will need about 360 of them. In the conditions of the dense construction of urban settlements, it is unlikely to build such a number of seasonal thermal accumulators. The most likely option is the partial use of electricity from solar and wind power plants by electric heat generators of centralized heating, electrolyzers for hydrogen production and product cooling systems. At the same time, heating boilers on fossil fuel will work together with electric heat generators, which will ensure the reliability of heat supply. Keywords: solar power plants, wind power plants, centralized heat supply, electrothermal generators, electricity.