In spite of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, privately owned energy company the DTEK Group has completed the first phase of construction for its Tyligulska wind power project.
The wind farm has a capacity of 114 MW so far, with a target nameplate generation of 500 MW upon full completion.
The 19 phase one wind turbines will start generating power in spring 2023, according to a release from DTEK. The project is located in the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine near the Black Sea.
DTEK’s CEO, Maxim Timchenko, thanked the work crews for their performance on this project, noting that some had to don body armor for their day of work.
About a year ago, Russian military forces attacked the region and placed the city of Mykolaiv under siege as the Ukrainian forces prevented ground troops from taking it completely. Russian forces were successfully repulsed by April 2022.
According to DTEK, the wind farm is part of the 30 by 2030 initiative, which is a goal to install 30 GW of renewable energy capacity in Ukraine by 2030, a goal set by DTEK.
Ukraine’s current installed capacity for renewable generation is about 10 GW. At 30 GW, renewable energy would provide about half of the country’s electricity.
Rinat Akhmetov, a Ukrainian billionaire and founder of SCM Group, which is DTEK’s parent company, said the Russian invasion had temporarily halted construction of Tyligulska wind farm, but the project will be at full capacity in the coming weeks.
“The war will not stop us. We continue to create jobs, pay taxes, produce coal, generate electricity, restore grids, fight for our energy independence, and invest in the future. We will win the war,” Akhmetov said.
The SCM Group includes some 500 companies, including mining, telecom, real estate, metals, agriculture, sports, finance and transportation as well as energy. In 2018, the group was responsible for more than a fifth of all tax revenue to the Ukraine government.
According to the release, the company is seeking options for the further implementation of the project, including negotiations with international donors and partners.
