FBR Summer 2023 - Flipbook - Page 9
Industry News
Wind farm opens amid war in Ukraine
T
he world’s only wind farm
being built in a major conflict
zone was officially opened
by DTEK, Ukraine’s largest
private energy company, on 22 May.
Phase I of the Tyligulska Wind
Power Plant (WPP), which lies
just 100 km from the frontline in
the Southern region of Mykolaiv, is
already generating green power. The
plant’s 19 turbines have an installed
capacity of 114 MW, generating up
to 390,000 kWh, enough to power
200,000 households a year.
The decision to build Tyligulska
WPP was taken in 2020 as part
of DTEK’s strategy to expand its
renewables portfolio. The project will
eventually boost DTEK’s green energy
capacity from 1 GW to 1.5 GW.
DTEK has invested $200 million
in the construction of this first
phase. The project is one of the first
to deploy 6 MW Enventus turbines
from Danish manufacturer Vestas.
Phase II plans envisage adding up
to 64 turbines to raise the potential
output to 500 MW. That will make
Tyligulska the largest WPP in Eastern
Europe, providing secure energy for
homes and businesses in the South
of Ukraine.
DTEK’s plans to expand Tyligulska
is part of the company’s broader
strategy to achieve net zero emissions
by 2040 and help Ukraine become a
clean energy exporter to the European
Union. Those plans remain dependent
on DTEK securing an additional
$450 million in funding, both from
foreign investors and crucially from
state-backed international financial
institutions.
Ground was broken in late 2021
and the first wind turbine was erected
in December, 2021. However, DTEK
halted construction after Russia’s
full-scale invasion in February, 2022,
with six turbines installed, when
enemy forces advanced on Mykovaiv
and foreign partners were forced to
evacuate staff and equipment.
By Summer, 2022, and with
financial support from DTEK
shareholder Rinat Akhmetov, work
resumed with an all-Ukrainian crew of
650 people at its peak. Staff worked
in bullet proof vests and spent over
300 hours in bomb shelters from
August, 2022, until April this year,
under the constant threat of missile
strikes.
In one and a half years, the team
installed 114 MW of generating
capacity at twice the usual speed
for a project on this scale. It was an
outstanding achievement in uniquely
difficult circumstances.
Rinat Akhmetov, investor at
SCM, said: “11 years ago, we started
building green energy in Ukraine. We
started to change the energy system
of the country. Since then, despite
all the obstacles, we never changed
course, having invested more than
1 billion euros in solar and wind
farms. In 2022, we had big plans to
build a new Tyligulska wind power
plant. However, the Russian invasion
temporarily halted the project. Today,
I want to say: we made a decision to
resume the construction of the wind
power plant and the first stage of
the station started working at full
capacity. The war will not stop us. We
continue to create jobs, pay taxes,
generate electricity, restore grids,
fight for our energy independence
and invest in the future. We will win
the war”.
Commenting on Tyligulska’s
official opening, Maxim Timchenko,
DTEK CEO, stated: “The Tyligulska
wind farm is a symbol of Ukraine’s
resistance to Russian attempts to
freeze Ukraine into submission. With
projects like Tyligulska, we can build
Ukraine back greener and cleaner
and become a key partner in Europe’s
energy future. By developing an
infrastructure based on distributed
rather centralised generation, we
are creating an energy supply that is
more resilient and stable.
“DTEK is getting ready for the
construction of stage II. The company
will continue to contribute to the
implementation of Ukraine’s strategy
to build 30 GW of RES capacity by
2030. The Tyligulska wind farm is our
practical step towards developing
clean energy in Ukraine and
intensifying energy security in Europe.
By having completed Phase I, we are
sending a signal to our international
partners that they can invest in
Ukraine today without waiting for the
war to end.”
More information:
www.dtek.com
Plans approved for 15 MW battery
storage site in Somerset
Conrad Energy’s focus on energy
storage and renewable technologies
continues with the news the
company has been granted planning
approval for a 15 MW battery
site in Watchet, Somerset. With
battery energy storage enabling the
proliferation of renewables on to the
grid, the role of storage installations,
such as the one which will be built
in Watchet, are playing in enabling
the energy transition is becoming
increasingly vital.
George Hall, Development
Manager, Conrad Energy, said: ‘Our
investment in the South-West
continues with a strong start to 2023
as we build our pipeline of diverse
storage and renewable development
projects. We’re committed to ensuring
access to lower carbon energy for
all, and the plant at Watchet is a
tremendous step forward in making
the most of energy generated by
renewable sources.’
The energy held in battery energy
storage facilities is used to balance
and stabilise the grid, ensuring the
supply of energy is constant. The
utility-grade batteries will store
electricity from the grid at times of
low demand and high renewable
energy generation, and export back to
the grid at times of high demand and
low renewable energy generation.
The battery energy storage facility,
which will host 15 energy storage
containers, is due to be operational
by the end of 2024. The site has been
sensitively-designed to incorporate
local planting and demonstrates
a 15.37% gain in habitat units and
10.4% gain in hedgerow units, thanks
to nearly 1,000 sq m of natural
woodland screening and 47 m of new
indigenous hedgerow planting.
More information:
www.conradenergy.co.uk
Summer 2023 Forest Bioenergy Review
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