Solar Energy Generation

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has come a long way since solar energy was first used as an alternative energy source. Previously, solar modules were not very efficient and took up a lot of space. However, modern photovoltaic technologies have overcome these issues. Thanks to new advances in photovoltaic technology, today’s solar panels are more efficient and reliable than ever, so now it is possible to generate more energy per area and increase your independence from the grid.

In addition, the cost of innovative technologies is decreasing, when it was previously very expensive. Today, the average life of a photovoltaic module is about 30 years. This means that the upfront installation costs of solar modules can be offset by savings on energy bills, and over time could even result in a stable flow of passive income due to the longer lifespan of the panels.

The entire territory of Ukraine is suitable for the installation of solar power plants.
The average annual amount of total solar radiation energy that enters the territory of Ukraine annually is within the range of 1070 kWh/m² (in the northern part of Ukraine) to 1400 kWh/m², and could be even higher in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Therefore, the southern regions of Ukraine (Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, and part of the Donetsk region, Autonomous Republic of Crimea) are most favourable for the use of solar energy, and it is where more than 60% of industrial solar power plants (SPP) are concentrated today.

Solar energy in Ukraine is a relatively new branch of its electric power industry and it is developing rapidly. In 2020-2021, Ukraine experienced a real boom in the advancement of solar energy. Huge solar power plants appeared in the Ukrainian steppes, and thousands of smaller ones were installed by private households.

According to the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, in 2021 alone, almost 15,000 Ukrainian families installed solar installations. This is twice as many households as in 2020. In total, by the end of 2021, about 45 thousand households in Ukraine had installed solar panels on the roofs of their houses, or near them, and started saving on electricity bills. The total capacity of such SPPs exceeded 1.2 GW. Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions are among the top three regions in terms of the number of solar panels installed by families.

In recent years, Ukraine had one of the highest rates of solar energy development in Europe. However, the russian invasion caused significant losses to the industry. According to various estimates, over 30% of solar power plants located in the temporarily occupied territories were destroyed, which is a loss of approximately 1120-1500 MW of installed capacity. In addition, more than 25% of private solar installations were also destroyed.

However, the war could not completely stop the advancement of solar energy in Ukraine – 15 MW of new solar capacity was put into operation in 2022.

As of the end of 2022, the total capacity of all solar power plants in Ukraine reached 7,868 MW, including the 940 MW capacity located in temporarily occupied territories in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.