After the infamous meltdown in 1986 resulted from a flawed reactor design and poor training, other nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl facility continued to operate until the turn of the century. For the past 18 years, Chernobyl has been nothing but an abandoned wasteland due to the high level of radiation, making the Chernobyl exclusion zone unsuitable for agriculture or forestry. This exclusion zone is a 1000 square mile area around the Chernobyl nuclear plant mostly uninhabited and unused since the 1986 disaster. Since there is already substantial electrical infrastructure in place left over from the nuclear plant and the fact that the land is unused and cheap, the site is an excellent choice for large solar farm(s) to be installed.
“It’s not just another solar power plant…it’s really hard to underestimate the symbolism of this particular project. ” the chief executive of Solar Chernobyl LLC, Evhen Variagin, told reporters at the unveiling of a 1 MW joint project that can power 2,000 homes, on Friday, October 5, 2018, by Ukrainian company Rodina and German company Enerparc AG, costing about $1.2 million (1 million euros) and benefiting from feed-in-tariffs that guarantee a certain price for power. The head of the Chernobyl nuclear plant Valery Seyda said, “It is the first time the site has produced power since 2000, when the nuclear plant was finally shut down. But now we are seeing a new sprout, still small, weak, producing power on this site and this is very joyful.”
Between January and September of this year (2018), more than 500 MW of renewable power capacity is added to Ukraine, more than twice as much as in 2017, according to the Ukrainian government.The head of the Office of the National Investment Council of Ukraine, Yulia Kovaliv, said investors want to reap the benefits from a generous subsidy scheme before parliament is due to vote on scrapping it in July next year. “Investors expect that in the renewable energy sector facilities launched before 2019 will operate on the current beneficial system of green tariffs…that is why investors want to buy ready-to-build projects in order to complete construction before that time.” Yulia Kovaliv told Reuters reporter on the sidelines of a conference in Odessa in September.
Cheap land and sunny skies are attracting interests from around the world. Two Chinese companies, GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd. and China National Complete Engineering Corp, are also building a one-gigawatt solar power plant (enough to power 100 million LED bulbs) to the South of Chernobyl. Another dozen smaller investors are also installing solar parks nearby on a smaller scale. These entrepreneurs are not deterred by the challenges of major construction projects in nuclear contamination zone. Engineering work has already begun, but there has not been any public disclosure about safety measures, the completion date, nor a price for the project.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun, below:
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
South Australia, World’s Biggest Lithium Ion Battery Farm (credit: Tesla, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Elon Musk’s tweet about South Australia’s battery farm for renewable energy (presented at WindermereSun.com)
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
Elon Musk has followed through with his promise to solve the growing energy crisis in South Australia in 100 days! Tesla (TSLA) cofounder and energy division head Lyndon Rive boldly claimed, back in March of 2017, that he would commit to installing the 100-300 megawatt hours of battery required to prevent the increasingly frequent blackouts of South Australia within 100 days. He said the company could do the same in Victoria, where the closure of the 1600 MW Hazelwood coal plant in March was raising more fears of increasing blackouts across the eastern states electricity market next summer, following a near blackout in NSW on February 10 after an unexpected spike in demand due to a heat wave. Musk upped the ante by not only backing Rive’s claim but also insisting that if the 100 MWh of battery system would not be installed within 100-day window, he (Musk) would offer the service completely free of charge. When the billionaire-entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes asked Musk in March, if Tesla was serious when it claimed it could quickly end blackouts in South Australia,”Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?” Musk tweeted at the time.
Tweets to Elon Musk from Australia (presented at WindermereSun.com)
To solve South Australia’s energy crisis, Tesla (TSLA) has teamed up with French renewable energy firm Neoen and an Australian state government (with a South Australian company CPP doing the ground work) to install the world’s largest lithium ion battery farm. Paired up with Neoen’s existing Hornsdale Wind Farm in the state of South Australia, near Jamestown, north of Adelaide, the battery farm will have three times the capacity as the next biggest in the world. South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said this extraordinary collaboration would deliver a grid-scale battery that would “stabilize the South Australian network as well as putting downward pressure on prices. Battery storage is the future of our national energy market, and the eyes of the world will be following our leadership in this space.” The project is intended to sustain 100 MW of power and store 129 MWh, being able to power about 30,000 homes, according to Tesla. The project is currently slated for completion by December to harness the existing Hornsdale Wind Farm to charge the mega-battery while the wind is blowing and discharge power when it is most needed. Musk commented, “It’s a fundamental efficiency improvement to the power grid, and it’s really quite necessary and quite obvious considering a renewable energy future.” In essence, by storing renewable (wind and solar) energy during off-peak hours and then discharging that energy during peak hours, utility companies are able to cut costs, improve reliability and resiliancy, and reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
Tesla was able to beat the other 91 international bidders for this project. It is understandable, for the company has made substantial progress in the utility front since introducing Powerwall and Powerpack about two years ago. Tesla now supplies energy to the Hawaiian Island of Kauai using a large solar energy plant running on the Powerpack technology. Medium size businesses are also turning to Tesla tech for energy storage, including the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Southern California Edison’s Mira Loma substation in Ontario, California powering 15,000 homes. So, while the South Australia project may have an ambitious timetable, Tesla’s impressive resume suggests that the 100-day goal should not be a problem for Tesla.
tweets to Elon Musk from Ukraine (presented at WindermereSun.com)
In the meantime, rumor has it that citizens from other countries have also taken to social media to ask Musk for help. A user by the same of @5AllanLeVito asked Musk to bring a similar project to Ukraine, above. Musk’s response “Sure”, and laid out the cost. New Zealand and others may soon to follow. Thank goodness for new technology Twitter: much will be accomplished within much shorter period of time! Hurray for the renewable future! Hurray for America’s adopted son, Elon Musk, in his progress/effort in saving our planet earth!
Perhaps the Floridians should start tweeting Elon Musk for our battery system!
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Solar PV cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar PV stations have been built over the years. For a quick recap of “What Is Solar Cell” at Sun Is The Future, take a look at these links below:
What Is Solar Cell (7)Please allow me to share with you some of the top photovoltaic power stations that are larger than 25 MW in current net capacity. These stations have progressively increased in size over the past decade. At this very moment, October of 2012, the largest three individual photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are Agua Caliente Solar Project (Arizona of USA, 247 MW connected and to increase to 397 MW when completed), Charanka Solar Park (India, 214 MW connected and to increase to 500 MW when completed), Golmud Solar Park (China, 200 MW connected with annual production of 317 GWh and completed in October, 2011). But keep in mind that solar industry is very dynamic and therefore these order may be in flux. Here at Sun Is The Future, we will keep you informed of these fluctuations. Please see the chart below, as of October, 2012: *Note: I need to check on Agua Caliente’s maximum generating capacity because many sources indicated 290 MW whereas Wikipeida indicated 397 MW. I will get back to you on this after further investigation.
World's Top PV Power Stations As of Oct., 2012 (Source: Wikipedia)
