Ukraine plans 1-GW wind project in Chernobyl exclusion zone

The Ukrainian government will be partnering with Germany-based Notus Energy to build a 1-GW wind farm within the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, transmission system operator Ukrenergo and Notus Energy have signed a memorandum of cooperation for the project. The pact was also signed by the management of the exclusion zone, the government said this week.

Set to become one of Europe’s largest wind farms, the complex will be capable of generating electricity for 800,000 homes.

Potsdam-based Notus Energy has already completed an initial feasibility study for the plan and is ready to proceed with wind data collection, environmental studies and land acquisition.

The implementation of the wind project is seen to help Ukraine deliver its plan to transform the Chernobyl area into a recovery zone while boosting electricity generation and bringing new investments. The exclusion zone, an uninhabited designated area around the devastated Chernobyl nuclear plant, is already home to a 1-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that was commissioned in 2018.

At the end of 2022, Germany contributed EUR 30 million to the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine, which was set up to match demand for financing procurement of equipment, fuels and services for Ukrainian energy companies.

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