Sukha Balka, an iron ore mining company, has started building a solar power plant (SPP) as an alternative power source for the Frunze mine.
This was reported by NV Business with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Igor Piltek, Deputy General Director and Chief Engineer of the mine, the solar plant will have a capacity of 2 MW. It will consist of 2,740 solar panels that will be installed on a plot of almost 2 hectares.
The official also said that while work on the design of the SPP and the purchase of equipment is underway, construction has already begun at the mine, preparing a site for the installation of solar panels. The company plans to put the power plant into operation in June this year.
The solar power plant is expected to operate autonomously. According to estimates, the equipment should pay for itself in 4 years.
The mine's management decided to build its own power generation facilities due to a constant lack of generating capacity and restrictions on electricity consumption.
Recently, EcoPolitic reported that the agricultural company Nibulon has launched a large project to introduce energy independence: it has installed 106 solar panels at a transshipment terminal in Mykolaiv. The station's capacity is 60.95 kW, but Nibulon plans to significantly increase this figure in the future.
