Almost 10 MW: A solar power station is to be built in Mykolaiv for €7.2 million, funded by NEFCO

Mykolaiv is amending the terms of its agreement with NEFCO to speed up the construction of a solar power station. Photo: NikVesti archive

Mykolaiv plans to build a 9.9 MW solar power plant within the year. The electricity generated is intended primarily for municipal utilities and the city’s critical infrastructure.

This was discussed during a meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council’s Committee on Housing and Utilities on 24 March, reports NikVesti.

The City Council is due to approve amendments to the grant agreement with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). This agreement had previously been approved by councillors.

Ihor Nabatov, Deputy Director of the Housing and Utilities Department, explained that this concerns clarifications to the already signed agreement worth 7.2 million hryvnias.

«This concerns our agreement, which we have already approved with you at the City Council session for a total amount of 7.2 million hryvnias. As of today, this agreement is, so to speak, signed. However, there are legal nuances, and in order to sign it definitively, the relevant amendments must be made,» said Ihor Nabatov.

One of the main changes concerns the location of the solar power station. Initially, it was planned to be situated on three sites, including within the «Enerhiia» industrial park in the Korabelnyi district. However, due to legal proceedings, it will not be possible to implement the project there.

Mykola Lohvinov, Director of the Mykolaivoblteploenergo Municipal Enterprise, explained that the city has already allocated a new 25-hectare site in the same district, so it was decided to build the plant in a single location.

«When we were planning this project with solar stations and NEFCO, we wanted to carry it out across three sites. This included part of the ‘Enerhiia’ industrial park in the Korabelny district. However, as we looked into the situation, it became clear that there is a legal dispute there and construction is impossible. Therefore, the city council allocated 25 hectares of land to us, and we agreed that instead of three sites, there would be one,» said Mykola Lohvinov.

According to him, the plan is to sell electricity from the station primarily to municipal utilities and the city’s critical infrastructure facilities at cost price.

«We are stipulating in this supplementary agreement that priority consumers will be the city of Mykolaiv’s critical infrastructure enterprises and municipal utilities. And we will sell them electricity from this plant at cost price,» he added.

Tender procedures are currently underway. The deadline for submitting bids is 7 April. The agreement provides for the project to be completed by 31 March 2028, though the city council expects construction to be finished much earlier.

«We have discussed with NEFCO that the plant should be built by the end of this year. Although the agreement specifies a longer timeframe, this is standard procedure, but we plan to build it as quickly as possible,» said Mykola Lohvinov.

Following the discussion, the committee members supported the draft decision.

Read also the article by NikVesti: «Reconstruction outside Prozorro: how transparent are international tenders for Mykolaiv».