Norway’s Norsk Solar has signed an agreement with the Voltage Group Ukrainian Company for designing and building of a 9 MW solar power plant near the town of Brovary in Kyiv region, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) reported on its website. According to the NEFCO, Voltage Group developed design documentation for construction of the solar plant on a total land area of 12.6 hectares.
The plant, which is located in the village of Semypolky, is to be commissioned at the end of 2019.
As reported, the NEFCO will lend EUR 4.35 million to Norway’s Norsk Solar for the construction of the plant, while Norsk Solar will issue another EUR 4.35 million.
The project owner and majority equity contributor, Norsk Solar AS, is part of the Norsk Vind group.
Norsk Solar is owned by Norwegian Lars Helge Helvig.
Ukrainian SPP will be the second such kind of a project for the company.
BUILDING, CONTRACT, KYIV, NORSK SOLAR, SOLAR POWER PLANT, UKRAINIAN CONTRACTOR
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) will provide the Norwegian company Scatec Solar, represented by Scatec Solar ASA, with a loan of EUR 9 million for the construction of a 45 MW solar power plant near Bohuslav (Kyiv region).
According to a press release from GGF, this year this is the second major investment by the Norwegian company in the renewable energy fund in Ukraine. The first one was the project of the 250 MW wind farm Syvash (Kherson region).
In general, the fund’s investments in Ukraine amount to almost EUR63 million. This project will contribute to the country’s strategy to increase the share of renewable energy in its total supply to 25% by 2035, the fund said in a press release.
The Green for Growth Fund finances renewable energy projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in 19 countries of South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Middle East and North Africa.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) organizes a syndicated loan of EUR116 million for the manufacturer of sheet materials based on wood Kronospan UA (Novovolynsk, Volyn region), which is part of Kronospan Group, for the construction of a new plant, according to a bank press release.
“The EBRD will be the lender of the record for the amount of EUR116 million, while EUR50 million out of the total will be syndicated to commercial banks Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich under an A/B loan structure,” the report says.
“The funds will finance investments in new production facilities in compliance with relevant EU standards and regulations. The company plans to expand its production in Ukraine with the construction of a new facility in Novovolynsk, western Ukraine,” it reads.
“Specialized energy efficient equipment, including a 45 MW biomass boiler energy plant, a new transformer unit and a new precipitator filter will provide an alternative power supply solution, cut energy losses and help reduce dust emissions. High value-added products manufactured at these facilities are expected to lead to oriented strand board (OSB) imports substitution and more exports from Ukraine to the EU single market and other countries,” according to the document.
Kronospan was created in Austria in 1897. Currently it is the leading European manufacturer of wood-based sheet materials, operating in 21 countries. Total sales exceed EUR2.7 billion per year.
Norway’s Scatec Solar jointly with China’s POWERCHINA Guizhou Engineering Co. Ltd. has started implementing a project to build the Prohresivka solar power plant with a capacity of 148 MW (Prohresivka, Mykolaiv region). The press service of the company reported that the total cost of the project is EUR 124 million. POWERCHINA covers 65% of capital expenditure. The launch of the plant is scheduled for H1 2020.
As reported, Scatec Solar in 2018 established and acquired about half a dozen companies in Ukraine to implement its projects on the construction of solar power plants.
Norway’s Scatec Solar in 2018 established and acquired around a dozen of companies in Ukraine to implement its projects to build solar power plants. According to a report of Scatec Solar for 2018, the company entered into agreements with Rengy Development and obtained 51% in Rengy Bioenergy. At the end of 2018, the companies started building a solar power plant in Mykolaiv region with a capacity 47 MW for EUR 52 million. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) signed credit agreements of 50% each of the non-recourse debt financing of the project. The credit facilities amount to EUR 36 million and covers 70% of the total project costs. Commercial operation is expected during 2019.
In 2018, Scatec Solar signed agreements securing the 30 MW Kamianka project in Cherkasy region with a total investment of EUR 35 million. EBRD and FMO, the Dutch development bank, signed credit agreements for the non-recourse debt financing of the project. The credit facilities amount to EUR 24.5 million and covers 70% of the total project costs. Construction started early 2019 with commercial operation expected in fourth quarter 2019.
During 2018, Scatec Solar signed agreements securing projects with total capacity of 251 MW in Ukraine. Two of these projects secured financing in 2018 and moved into construction with 174 MW in project backlog. Total capex for the projects is estimated to EUR 193 million. In Ukraine, Scatec Solar is developing projects totalling 163 MW in addition to the 251 MW in project backlog and under construction.
For the implementation of the projects the company also established Scatec Solar Ukraine Opr Comp (EPC) in 2018. The Norwegian company in 2018 via its Dutch subsidiary Scatec Solar Ukraine B.V. became owners of 100% of Atlas Capital Energy, Greenteco SES, Progressovka and Boguslav Energy.
The Ukrsadvinprom public association has called on the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine to adapt the state-funded program compensating expenses on construction of fruit refrigerators to berry farms, member of the association and founder of Yahidky company producing organic blueberries Oleh Naumenko has said.
“In 2018, we received compensation for planting material in full. However, officials have a misunderstanding of some simple questions… We ask the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry to hear us and reconsider the program on refrigerators in the direction of adapting it to berry farms,” he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
According to representatives of Ukrsadvinprom, the criterion of the capacity of this equipment for compensation from the national budget from 500 tonnes, as provided for by the current government decree, should be relaxed to 50-100 tonnes.
“In addition to laying new plantings, you need to think about the storage of fruits and berries. However, refrigeration equipment with a capacity of 500 tonnes and more is used by large enterprises – producers of apples. And for blueberries, currants, blackberries, smaller capacity refrigerators are required,” Director of Horticulture Institute under the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine Ihor Hrynyk said.
Head of Uksadvinprom Volodymyr Pechko said that in 2019, about 15 enterprises are candidates to have compensation for the construction of refrigeration equipment under current requirements.
According to him, if the criteria for equipment are relaxed, about 80 export-oriented enterprises will be eligible for compensation under this state-funded program.
“This will support not only large fruit producers, but also small farms. It will also provide an opportunity of storing berry products for about three months and exporting them not only to neighboring countries, but also to China, as well as to Chile and Argentina,” Pechko added.
