Largest Solar PV Station In Ukraine Energized

Ukrainian energy holding company DTEK has connected to the grid a 240 MW PV power plant in Ukraine, the European country’s largest. The Pokrovska or Pokrovskaya Solar Power Plant in Dnipropetrovsk region in Nikopol district is capable of generating 400 million kWh of clean power annually.

Built on non-agricultural reclaimed land, the project has been completed with a total investment of €193 million ($215 million) with 16 companies being part of its development. DTEK said it took eight months to complete and commission the project.

Chinese solar module maker Risen Energy supplied 840,000 PERC monocrystalline solar modules for the plant (see Risen Modules For 240 MW Ukraine PV Project).

For DTEK it is the company’s third solar power project in Ukraine. Previously it commissioned 10 MW Tryfonivka Solar Plant in August 2017 in Kherson region, followed by 200 MW Nikopol Solar Power Plant in March 2019 equipped with modules supplied by another Chinese module manufacturer, Trina Solar.

The solar PV market in Ukraine is currently feed-in-tariff (FIT) dependent with a fixed rate of €0.1502 per kWh that gradually reduces as it grows. However, following the lead of several other mature markets around the globe, it will soon move towards auctions scheme with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) seeking a consultant to help the country devise and implement such a program (see Consultant Sought For Ukraine’s RE Auction Program).

As per the first reading of a draft renewable energy auction law by a committee of the Ukrainian Parliament in January 2019, auctions are suggested to be held twice a year on or before April 1 and October 1 (see Ukraine Plans RE Auction Starting 2020). However, the final schedule hasn’t been officially announced as yet.