Solar power plants are nothing new, but they are far too rare. The Ukraine has decided to help fix the problem, of lacking of solar power, by funding the development of what might become the largest solar power plant in Europe.
The solar facility, which is located in Okhotnykovo, Crimea, is part of the country’s national natural energy project. The project aims to produce 30% of the Ukraine’s energy from natural clean energy sources by 2015. The solar facility is a large part of this initiative. It will cover over a plot of land greater than the size of 200 football fields. The plant will likely produce close to 80 megawatts of energy, making it a contender for the largest solar power plant on the continent.
The Ukranian energy initiative is being funded through the sale of carbon emissions credits to countries that operate under theKyotoprotocol, such as Japan. The Ukraine will be able to further offset their carbon emissions with the implementation of the new solar facility allowing them to continue the sale of emissions credits.
For a country like the Ukraine, with a long history of energy problems – from Chernobyl to their reliance of Russia for gas – the national natural energy project is a major step toward making a cleaner country, one we could do well to follow.
Because of the country’s importance in the larger economy and within Europe their example is also crucial to the continued development of solar power plants. Other notable solar facilities in Europe – that rival the size and MW production of the Ukraine plant – include an Italian plant at Montalto di Castro and a German solar facility at Finsterwalde. These three plants are cornerstones of the solar energy movement throughoutEurope. Look to see more news concerning solar developments in Europe as a result of the Ukraine plant’s influence.