Wind

Ukraine set to build largest wind farm yet as 650MW giant gets green light

Project would represent a major boost to nation's 1.7GW wind power capacity in place before Russia’s full-scale invasion

Construction underway at another DTEK wind project near the frontline of Ukraine's war with Russia.
Construction underway at another DTEK wind project near the frontline of Ukraine's war with Russia.Photo: UWEA
Journalist

A plan to build a 650MW wind farm that would be the largest in Ukraine has been given the go-ahead as developer DTEK receives specifications for its grid connection.

Ukraine’s largest private power producer DTEK announced it has received “technical specifications" from transmission system operator Ukrenegro on connecting the project to the grid.

The specifications are an important prerequisite for designing the future wind farm's power collection substation, said DTEK.

A DTEK spokesperson confirmed to Recharge that this means the company has now obtained all the necessary permissions to begin construction, planned to start next year.

“Wind energy has many strategic advantages – speed of construction, dispersed turbines and the highest generation from early autumn to late spring,” said Oleg Solovei, deputy CEO of DTEK Renewables.

“That is why it should become the basis for the renewal of Ukraine's energy potential in the coming years.”

The wind farm will be based in Ukraine’s Poltava region, southwest of the city of Kharkiv.

Ukraine had reached nearly 1.7GW of wind capacity before the war – excluding capacity in already annexed areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and Crimea – meaning this project would by itself represent a major boost to national capacity.

DTEK has yet to choose a turbine supplier for the project, it confirmed to Recharge. It is using Vestas turbines for a 384MW expansion of a wind farm not far from the front line of Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.
DTEK this month signed agreements with US turbine maker GE Vernova and manufacturing giant Honeywell to boost energy infrastructure including wind power and battery storage in Ukraine.

Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, it is estimated Russia has destroyed at least half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity with missile and drone strikes, causing blackouts across the country.

Andriy Konechenkov, chair of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, tells Recharge that the wind farm will help reduce an energy deficit in the Poltava region. It will also "significantly bolster Ukraine’s energy security" by supplying power to other regions bordering Russia, which are "currently vulnerable to enemy attacks."
Konechenkov reiterated a point he made in a recent interview with Recharge that wind farms hold a key tactical advantage over thermoelectric power plants as turbines spread out over large areas are much harder to hit.

In that interview, Konechenkov also stressed the importance of finding a financial and commercial model for wind power investment that can withstand the ravages of war, including the need for “guaranteed offtake” of electricity for long enough for investors to recoup loans and interest.

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Published 24 June 2024, 16:03Updated 25 June 2024, 08:12
DTEKUkraineEurope