Work is nearly complete on a solar power plant that may herald the transformation of land poisoned by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Chernobyl's Sunny Future
- By RFE/RL
![Workers link up wiring for Chernobyl's new solar power plant. In the background is the chimney of the nuclear reactor that exploded in 1986 in one of the world's worst-ever nuclear disasters.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b6dc5df3-ac92-4891-a2aa-b9b653b6e09c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Workers link up wiring for Chernobyl's new solar power plant. In the background is the chimney of the nuclear reactor that exploded in 1986 in one of the world's worst-ever nuclear disasters.
![Workers wrestle one of the new Chernobyl project's 3,800 solar panels into position. The Ukrainian-German company behind the project told AFP on January 10 that the solar plant will generate enough electricity to power "a large village," or around 2,000 apartments. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5b1e823-d263-4525-ae70-bed0811e9779_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Workers wrestle one of the new Chernobyl project's 3,800 solar panels into position. The Ukrainian-German company behind the project told AFP on January 10 that the solar plant will generate enough electricity to power "a large village," or around 2,000 apartments.
![A worker strolls between the solar arrays. The company was quoted in January as saying it expects the $1.2 million project to begin operation "within weeks." Despite the gloomy weather in these photos, Chernobyl reportedly shares the same number of sunlight hours as southern Germany.](https://gdb.rferl.org/002e8ee7-e7fc-42ad-98a4-692886c94f77_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A worker strolls between the solar arrays. The company was quoted in January as saying it expects the $1.2 million project to begin operation "within weeks." Despite the gloomy weather in these photos, Chernobyl reportedly shares the same number of sunlight hours as southern Germany.
![The abandoned town of Pripyat, 3 kilometers from Soviet-built Chernobyl power plant. Following the 1986 nuclear disaster, a region of land the size of Luxembourg was declared unlivable and unusable for agriculture.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a43dd641-fe6c-424b-b0ce-9992773a88b4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The abandoned town of Pripyat, 3 kilometers from Soviet-built Chernobyl power plant. Following the 1986 nuclear disaster, a region of land the size of Luxembourg was declared unlivable and unusable for agriculture.
![In 2016, Belarus, also affected by Chernobyl fallout, opened a solar power plant (pictured) on their own poisoned land, sparking interest in the green energy opportunities of the so-called exclusion zone.](https://gdb.rferl.org/94116560-ab62-4785-b745-2165f15f35ee_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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In 2016, Belarus, also affected by Chernobyl fallout, opened a solar power plant (pictured) on their own poisoned land, sparking interest in the green energy opportunities of the so-called exclusion zone.
![With strict prohibitions on drilling into the irradiated soil of the exclusion zone, Chernobyl's new solar panels were mounted onto blocks of concrete. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5b3afa5-8464-4d02-82a8-57847c295595_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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With strict prohibitions on drilling into the irradiated soil of the exclusion zone, Chernobyl's new solar panels were mounted onto blocks of concrete.
![As well as cheap land, another advantage of the solar plant's unusual location is access to the infrastructure that once channeled electricity from the nuclear plant out to the surrounding towns.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1e0227f8-716f-4be9-b801-6fde7035b984_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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As well as cheap land, another advantage of the solar plant's unusual location is access to the infrastructure that once channeled electricity from the nuclear plant out to the surrounding towns.
![Interest has now reportedly soared in investment opportunities in Chernobyl. A Ukrainian government spokeswoman told AFP that Kyiv has received about 60 proposals from foreign companies interested in developing solar power plants in the exclusion zone.](https://gdb.rferl.org/07b7dfde-365a-40ce-a43a-97bab9b6881b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Interest has now reportedly soared in investment opportunities in Chernobyl. A Ukrainian government spokeswoman told AFP that Kyiv has received about 60 proposals from foreign companies interested in developing solar power plants in the exclusion zone.