District heating projects financed by the EBRD in Ukraine

by CEE Bankwatch

District heating is crucial to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, providing essential heating and hot water to residential and commercial buildings. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing funding for many of these critical modernisation projects to reduce reliance on fossil-gas imports.

This briefing examines EBRD-financed district heating projects in Western Ukraine, particularly in Ternopil and Lutsk. We identify key challenges, including implementation delays, over-reliance on unsustainable biomass, and insufficient climate ambition. Based on these findings, we provide targeted recommendations for improving EBRD’s approach to district heating modernisation in Ukraine.