Thirty years after the nuclear accident, the Ukrainian Chernobyl turned into a source of renewable energy. At the site of destruction, 3800 solar panels were built to generate electricity for 2000 households. The Ukrainian-German project cost a million euros.
Panels are located in a contaminated area that remains largely uninhabitable. It ranks only a short distance from the former nuclear power plant, which is now covered by a giant sarcophagus.
The solar power plant has a power of one megawatt. The Ukrainian company Rodina in cooperation with the German company Enerparc has created this project, Reuters said.
The advantage of Chеrnobyl is its existing distribution network, told Tomáš Korostenský from Ekotechnik Czech company.
Chеrnobyl is now producing energy for the first time since 2000 when the nuclear power plant was finally shut down. The general trend of increasing investments in renewable sources, supported by the state subsidy system, contributes to the revitalization of the site. Kyiv is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
The Chernobyl explosion on April 26, 1986, is probably the worst nuclear disaster in the world. Unhappiness caused a failed test in the fourth reactor. After that, a large part of the air over Europe was infected for several days of radioactivity. Tens of thousands of people evacuated the authorities.
Immediately after the accident, 31 workers of the power plant and firefighters died. Above all, thousands of other people later succumbed to cancer or other diseases associated with radiation.