One of the largest steel mills in the Dnipropetrovsk region has completed a comprehensive energy independence project. The plant has commissioned the largest rooftop solar power plant for an enterprise in Ukraine, with a capacity of 4 MW, integrated with an industrial energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 4.2 MWh. The project, implemented by Rayton, will allow the plant to save approximately $1.5 million annually.
As of April 1, 2026, the full cost of electricity for industry (voltage class 2) in the region is 9–10 UAH/kWh, and during peak evening hours on the day-ahead market (DAM) it reaches 12–15 UAH/kWh. With the plant’s monthly consumption of 400–500 MWh, electricity bills amounted to 4–5 million UAH. Additionally, sudden power outages threatened to shut down the electric arc furnaces, which meant tens of thousands of hryvnias in direct losses every hour and the risk of damaging expensive equipment.
“For modern industry, especially an energy-intensive sector like metallurgy, on-site power generation and industrial batteries are no longer just an environmental trend but a basic requirement for survival and competitiveness,” commented Olga Lesko, director and co-founder of Rayton. “This complex in Dnipro has become one of the largest hybrid projects for industry in Ukraine and the largest existing rooftop station in Ukraine for self-consumption on a ballast mounting system. “We have created a system that not only generates kilowatts but also intelligently manages the consumption of the entire plant, protecting it from blackouts and price shocks in the electricity market.”
How the plant’s smart energy system works
The solar power plant complex (4,027 kW) and the storage system (4,180 kWh) operate as a single unit, addressing three key tasks:
Economic impact: payback in 3 years
The total investment in the modern energy complex amounted to approximately $3.9 million, of which $3 million was allocated to the construction of a solar power plant (SPP), and another $900,000 to the integration of energy storage systems (ESS).
The projected annual generation of the SPP is 4 million kWh, which, at an average tariff of 8 UAH, will generate approximately 32 million UAH (over $727,000) in annual revenue, returning at least one-third of the invested funds annually. Although storage systems slightly increase the cost of a “solar” kilowatt-hour, their use allows for maximum efficiency and generates $1.5 million annually (total savings from the solar power plant and ESS combined — ed.).
“The economic model of the solar power plant shows a payback period of less than three years, which is an unprecedented figure demonstrating the extremely high profitability of such solutions,” adds Olga Lesko. “Over the projected 30-year operational life, the solar power plant and the industrial system will generate over 1.9 billion UAH in net profit for the plant.”
Company Profile:
Rayton is a company committed to making solar energy accessible to everyone. We offer industrial enterprises turnkey solutions based on solar power plants and industrial energy storage systems.
The company has implemented over 300 projects with a total capacity of more than 100 MW of solar generation and over 40 MWh of energy storage systems (BESS). The project in the Dnipropetrovsk region ranks among the company’s top three largest completed projects.
