Chernobyl returns to producing energy
Energy production, this time, is solar. Initiative must breathe new life into uninhabitable area
Solar plant in the abandoned area around the former Chernobyl power plant
Ukraine has launched its first solar plant in the derelict area around the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant. After 32 years of the nuclear collapse that hit the site, Chernobyl is given a new lease of life by installing solar panels that should provide enough power for a medium-sized village.
Reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986. The high flames of fire spewed radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which quickly spread across the former Soviet Union and parts of Western Europe.
The Chernobyl plant and its fenced area – about 2,200 square kilometers – have been empty since then. The last reactor, No. 3, ceased operation in 2000, and reactor No. 4 was encased in a concrete sarcophagus not long after the incident, with an additional installation of a structure. New Safe Confiment on sarcophagi in 2016. Both covers are designed to prevent the spread of nuclear dust and particles left by the explosion.
The area around the plant has an exclusion zone that only allows the presence of 200 people. Without human interference, nature and wildlife have flourished in the region and the plant remains empty. The land itself is uninhabitable for humans for another 24,000 years and is unsuitable for agriculture. However, the region is still able to produce energy, but not nuclear.
This is where a 1 megawatt solar power plant located a mere 100 meters from the dome New Safe Confiment enters the story. The solar panel collection and facilities cover about 4 acres (1.6 hectares) and provide enough electricity to power a medium-sized village, or about 2,000 apartments.
Ukrainian energy company Rodina and Germany's Enerparc AG, the two companies leading the project, opened the factory with a ceremony on October 5th.
With land unsuitable for anything other than visits from so-called "nuclear tourists", and a direct connection to the country's electricity grid already in place, the solar plant has the potential to grow enormously. According to Agence France-Presse, Ukrainian authorities have offered investors another 6,425 acres to expand the size of the solar plant at a relatively low price.
Ukraine is interested in buying solar energy at a rate 50 percent above the European average, a very attractive proposition for energy companies. With all that space, up to 100 megawatts of solar energy could be produced.
