Acciona to invest in Ukraine’s photovoltaic complex

Spain’s Acciona Energía is set to invest €55m in a 57.2MW photovoltaic (PV) complex in Dymerka, northern Ukraine.

Construction works at the solar PV complex have started  and it will be the company’s first installation of its type in the country.

Located around 100km north-west of Kiev, the complex includes three adjacent photovoltaic plants (Dymerka 2, 3 and 4) on 92ha site and start-up is expected next year.

The Dymerka project is consistent with the technology diversification approach adopted by Acciona Energía to increase the weight of photovoltaic energy in its generation mix.

By next year, the company will have a total PV capacity of more than 1,000MWp under its ownership in Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Portugal, Egypt, the Ukraine and Spain, making this technology the second biggest in Acciona in terms of installed capacity after wind power.

Fully owned by Acciona Energía, the PV complex will feature 174,552 polycrystalline silicon modules, which will be mounted on fixed structures to produce 63GWh per annum and will be sufficient to power more than 26,000 Ukrainian homes.

Once completed, the solar project will be able to avoid more than 60,000t of CO₂ released from coal-fired power stations per year.

The Ukrainian Government is also promoting renewable energy in order to reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy and diversifying its energy mix.

Energy generated from the solar project will be sent to the national grid and sold to the Energorynok State Enterprise, a public utility company of Ukraine by signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) until 31 December 2029.

Going further, Acciona will sign up for the pricing system to be established for the Ukrainian market.

The Spanish company noted that it is also analysing other potential photovoltaic and wind power projects.