IDS Ukraine, one of the largest producers of bottled water and beverages in Ukraine, has commissioned a 1.4 MW solar power plant at the Mirgorod Mineral Water Plant, the company’s press service reported.
IDS Ukraine noted that from the first day of operation, the solar power plant began to supply the enterprise with energy, generating up to 600 kW/h even in cloudy weather.
“This project is not just an element of energy efficiency, it is our contribution to the sustainability of the country and our production and logistics infrastructure in the face of infrastructure challenges.
Our strategy is based on strong brands and strong production facilities that are capable of being reliable and predictable manufacturers and suppliers even in turbulent conditions,” emphasized IDS Ukraine CEO Marko Tkachuk.
The launch of the solar power plant at the Mirgorod Mineral Water Plant is part of a long-term strategy to develop our own electricity generation based on the principles of rapid response and strategic sustainability.
According to the strategy, IDS Ukraine will invest EUR530,000 excluding VAT in the construction of its own energy facilities in 2024–2025. The company has already invested EUR 460,000 in the purchase of a diesel generator for the Mirgorod plant to provide an operational reserve and has formed a total generation capacity of 1.6 MW to ensure the uninterrupted operation of critical production and logistics hubs and processes.
“Our team has been planning the transition to a partially autonomous energy supply model for a long time. Having our own solar power plant and energy means reliable production and predictability. We are reducing our dependence on infrastructure risks,” commented Konstantin Kryazhev, CEO of the Mirgorod mineral water plant IDS Ukraine.
The plant’s own solar power generation in Mirgorod will reduce electricity costs by EUR 150,000–200,000 per year, depending on the level of solar activity and current energy prices.
The expected return on investment is about three years, depending on the level of solar activity. The total annual electricity demand of the entire IDS Ukraine group is 28 MW, of which 5 MW is in Mirgorod and 23 MW is consumed by the company’s largest production and logistics facility, the Oskar Morshyn Mineral Water Plant.
In 2026, IDS Ukraine plans to launch another solar power plant with a nominal capacity of 1.6 MW at the Morshyn Mineral Water Plant “Oscar.”
The project of its own solar power plant is part of IDS Ukraine’s ecosystem approach to technological modernization and responsible production, which is the company’s response to current energy and climate challenges, the company emphasized.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996 and the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes the Morshyn mineral water plant “Oscar,” the Mirgorod mineral water plant, the distribution company “IDS,” and the water delivery operator “IDS Aqua Service.”
The group of companies owns the Morshynska, Myrhorodska, Alaska, and Aqua Life trademarks.
As reported, Cyprus-based International Distribution Systems Limited, owner of Ukraine’s largest mineral water producer IDS Ukraine, was subject to Ukrainian sanctions in November 2023 in the form of asset freezing, prevention of capital withdrawal abroad, and a ban on increasing the authorized capital of Ukrainian companies associated, in particular, with Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman and other co-owners of Alfa Group.
The process of nationalizing IDS Ukraine is currently ongoing.
Norway’s Scatec started commercial operation of its largest solar power plant in Ukraine Progressovka (Mykolaiv region) with a capacity of 148 MW from July 2.
“We are pleased to complete our fourth project in Ukraine, supporting the country’s transition to green energy,” Scatec CEO Raymond Carlsen is quoted as saying in a post on the company’s website.
The Progressovka project envisages the production of 184 GWh of electricity per year, which will provide 76,000 households with power and will lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by over 70,000 tonnes, the company said.
The service life of the plant is over 30 years.
Kness Group, a large EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor in Ukraine, plans to build around 500 MW of capacities of solar power plants in 2019 for various investors, boosting the volume of projects implemented by the company to 1 GW, Kness Group co-founder Yevhen Didichenko said on Thursday during the discussion devoted to the renewable energy in details organized by Golaw law firm.
Didichenko spoke in favor of adopting a law on green auctions, adding that investors will be interested in bidding and receive guaranteed government support for 20 years. According to him, the cost of building solar power plants in the world is decreasing at a higher than expected rate, so the current tariff for the sale of electricity generated by solar power plants is somewhat overestimated.
At the same time, the Kness Group is concerned about the uncertainty of the mechanism for the distribution of quotas of renewable energy. According to Didichenko, the quotas should be set in proportion to bids from different types of generation. Auctions should be held for the two main types of “green” generation – solar and wind – separately.
“Projects in wind power can be very large. As a result, they may either not have enough quotas, or the project will remain completely unfulfilled,” Didichenko said. In his opinion, the volume of quotas should correlate with the volumes of balancing capacities, but today this issue in Ukraine is not raised yet.
TIU Canada seeks to acquire two projects on construction of solar power plants in Odesa region, TIU Canada CEO Michael Yurkovich has said in an interview with Ukraine Business News during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Thus, the Canadian company continues implementing the strategy to invest $100 million in the construction of solar power plants in Ukraine until the end of this year, he said.
The company has already built a solar power plant with a capacity of 10.5 MW in Nikopol and is building another one in Mykolaiv region with a capacity of 13.5 MW. By the end of the year it is planned to begin construction of four more in Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
TIU Canada began its activity in Ukraine in June 2017. Its owner is the investment company Refraction Asset Management (Calgary, Canada).
