Elementum Energy, a subsidiary of VR Capital Group operating in the renewable energy sector, plans to launch the 60 MW Dunay wind farm in the south of the Odesa region by the end of 2026, according to Olga Rybachuk, managing director of Elementum Energy and member of the board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association.
“We have already started construction and activated the turbine contract with Vestas. They are already being manufactured, all permits are in place, and the site is being completed. We hope that the wind farm will be connected to the grid by the end of 2026,” Rybachuk said at the UWEA’s final press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on December 19.
In addition, according to her, the company has already reached the final stage of development of a 200 MW wind farm project in western Ukraine.
“This project should be ready for construction to begin in the first quarter of next year. We are very actively considering starting its construction in the second quarter of 2026,” Rybachuk said.
At the same time, she drew attention to the need for legislative regulation of one of the issues related to connecting new generation facilities to Ukrenergo substations, namely, providing investors with the opportunity to build the necessary facilities for such connection themselves.
“The construction and reconstruction of Ukrenergo substations for connection is an extremely long process, taking 2-3 years, which no project can afford. If we can independently answer to NEC for organizing the construction process, conducting our own tenders, and selecting contractors, then this project will fit into the construction timeframe of 1.5-2 years. This is what the power system needs, and it is very suitable in terms of resources and economic effects,” explained the managing director of Elementum Energy.
She stressed that making the appropriate amendments to the legislation is a critical issue.
“We very much hope that by 2028, the 200 MW wind farm will be supplying energy to Ukraine’s power grid,” Rybachuk emphasized.
As for the turbine manufacturer, she said that the company will most likely choose between Vestas and Nordex.
“In addition, we are working with the World Bank Group, IFC, which is very interested in financing Elementum projects and supports us in developing projects for sale on the open market, without any form of state support. The investment in this project is large, more than EUR 300 million. I agree that it cannot be done without financial partners. And, fortunately for us, we have a very powerful financial partner,” said the top manager of Elementum Energy.
Rybachuk also noted that the company plans to implement a pilot project for a 10 MW energy storage facility (ESF) with a capacity of 20 MWh, which it wants to build near one of its wind farms to test the joint operation of generation and ESF.
“We plan to see our ESS in operation by mid-2026. When we started this project, we were counting on our own funds, but soon the World Bank joined with a grant,” she said.
The company’s chosen operational model of WPP+ESS does not provide ancillary services to the transmission system operator, but rather involves working in time-shifted energy transfer modes, dealing with imbalances and constraints.
“In principle, storage systems should become an integral part of all new wind and solar projects because they minimize the specific component of renewable sources—imbalances,” the top manager believes.
At the same time, Rybachuk emphasized that the transmission system operator and distribution system operators limit renewable energy producers to 30-40% of their installed capacity at certain times.
“I think we cannot afford this, we cannot lose megawatts to restrictions,” she said, noting that resolving issues related to the operation of the UZE will also be a priority for the UEA in 2026.
According to her, the UZE has already been delivered to the site, and its assembly and connection will begin later this year.
As reported, at the same press conference, the chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (WEA), Andriy Konechenkov, noted that since the beginning of 2025, 324 MW of new wind power capacity has been built in Ukraine, while in the previous two years – between 2022 and the first quarter of 2025 – 248 MW of new wind power capacity was commissioned.
The country also has 534 MW of total installed capacity of energy storage systems (BESS).
Elementum Energy is an international investor in Ukraine’s renewable energy sector. The company manages a portfolio of solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 636 MW and continues to develop new projects in the field of wind energy and energy storage systems.
In early December 2024, Elementum Energy announced that it had acquired a 200 MW wind power project in western Ukraine and intends to prepare it for construction in late 2025.
