In August it was reported that project executive Activ Solar had completed the first two stages of its solar project in Okhotnykovo, Ukraine. Now with the final phase of construction realized, this Austrian PV company has accomplished its goal to have the largest solar plant in central and eastern Europe.
The 80MW power plant in Southern Ukrainian Crimea will produce an annual 100,000MW hours of electricity and is capable of producing enough energy to meet the needs of 20,000 households.
The Crimea solar power plant is part of the country's national Natural Energy project which is aiming to reduce the country’s dependence on mainland Ukraine for energy. At present, 90% of energy used in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is from the Ukraine. The State Agency of Ukraine for Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation launched the project in 2010 in the hope of attracting investors to the reputed high solar radiation area, which reaches a capacity of 800-1450W/m2 per year. The state agency expects the production share of alternative energy to make up to 30% of Ukrainian energy market before 2015. Investors can also be lured in with the government’s FiT system which was approved by the state in September 2008. The system introduced fixed feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable sources for the period of 20 years.
Previously, the CEO of the Activ Solar Kaveh Ertefai said: “Project of this scale means a radical change of solar energy development in Europe, while securing Ukraine's position as renewable energy provider.”
