Ukraine's largest grocery retailer, ATB, has installed solar panels at its stores and is saving about UAH 1.5 million per store.
This was reported by Delo.ua with reference to an interview given by Viktor Karachun, one of the co-owners of ATB, to Forbes Ukraine.
He cited the example of one store: the solar power plant (SPP) located there can generate 50 kW of electricity per day. The store consumes 39 kW, and the company sells the rest to the grid.
“In 2024, a solar panel at one store produced 164 MWh of electricity. 1 kWh costs UAH 9. The savings for each store are UAH 1.5 million,” the businessman says.
He noted that, in addition to saving money, solar power plants also provide energy security for retail outlets.
Viktor Karachun said that ATB has been installing solar panels since 2024. In particular, the company has already purchased 20 MW of panels with a payback period of about 3 years.
“This is a direct saving, because we do not take 20 MW from the Ukrainian generation. In this year's budget, we have budgeted about UAH 240 million in revenues from solar energy,” says the ATB co-owner.
He also said that the company is unable to sell excess electricity to the state, so it gives it away for free.
“For us, this is a loss of about 15% of the energy produced,” Viktor Karachun added.
In mid-March, EcoPolitics reported that the EVA chain of stores equipped its distribution center in Lviv with a solar power plant.
