Eco-solutions: Lviv region’s largest wind power plant energizes west of Ukraine

The Lviv region has been home to the largest wind power plant in western Ukraine for six months now. It produces 5% of the region's total energy consumption and can power three cities the size of Sambir.

The head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytsky, reports.

The head of the Lviv region stated that the project's overall cost was 75 million euros. The Czech company MND and the Ukrainian group of companies Eco-Optima split the investment 50%.

Kozytsky stressed that this is the biggest foreign investment in the Lviv region and Ukraine since the full-scale war began.

"Before sharing this highly positive update on the advancement of alternative energy in Ukraine, Ukrainian investors had to overcome numerous obstacles that had hindered the project's progress," Kozytsky emphasized.

By the end of 2021, they had paid for the equipment, its delivery, and installation. However, once the full-scale war broke out, everyone refused to transport it to Ukraine. Even foreign specialists were hesitant to travel to the country.

"However, at Eco-Optima, they saw this challenge as an opportunity and decided to invest in a 600-ton crane specifically for installing wind turbine components. It is currently the only one of its kind in Ukraine," the head of the Lviv region said, emphasizing that they installed and commissioned this station exclusively by Ukrainian specialists who were gathered all over the country.

The electricity generated around the clock by ten powerful windmills is transmitted through a 14-kilometer line to the Ukrenergo substation, which is already distributed according to the needs of cities and villages.

"This wind farm already generates 12% of alternative energy in the Lviv region. Twenty such stations can ensure our region's complete energy independence," Kozytsky said.

He also mentioned that the construction of the wind farm brought several added benefits, including:

• the creation of new jobs,
• the development of infrastructure in previously unpopulated areas,
• and an increase in tourism to nearby towns and villages.

"The more local decentralized energy supply sources we have, our energy system will be more stable. We are already working on the next such projects in our region," Kozytsky is convinced.

For reference:

In August, the first wind power plant in the region with a capacity of 1.8 MW was put into operation in Zakarpattia in test mode.

According to data from the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UVEA), as of the beginning of 2024, the total installed capacity of Ukrainian wind power plants was 1.9 GW, of which 71% are located in the temporarily occupied territory. In 2022-2024, three new wind power plants with a capacity of 238 MW were put into operation, in particular, a wind power plant in the Mykolaiv region.

Rubryka previously reported that DTEK [the most significant private investor in the energy industry of Ukraine – ed.] planned to build the Poltava wind power plant in the Hlobynska community.

Ukraine and Germany also plan to build a wind farm around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

It's worth mentioning that Rubryka has investigated whether homeowners with solar panels on their roofs have power during blackouts and whether this solution truly allows for complete energy independence. Check out Rubryka's article, "Energy-efficient green solutions: do they work during blackouts?"