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The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear accident in history, killing over 30 people in 1986.
Now, two Chinese companies are building a massive solar park in the exclusion zone. Talk of taking solar installation on brown fields to whole new level.
Cheap land and lots of sunlight have encouraged the $1 billion investment.
The original power lines from the nuclear power plant will be reused.
“It is cheap land, and abundant sunlight constitutes a solid foundation for the project,” says Ostap Semerak, Ukraine’s minister of environment and natural resources in a statement to The Guardian.
“In addition, the remaining electric transmission facilities are ready for reuse.”
“There will be remarkable social benefits and economical ones as we try to renovate the once-damaged area with green and renewable energy,” says Shu Hua, chairman a subsidiary of Golden Concord Holdings (GLC), the company that will supply and install solar panels at the site.
“We are glad that we are making joint efforts with Ukraine to rebuild the community for the local people.”
Many other countries are interested in investing in the solar potential of Chernobyl.
Germany has applied to install a 500-megawatt solar farm through the sale of cheap land, Ukraine hopes to regenerate the area.
The world’s largest movable metal structure was placed over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2016.
The 2.1 billion Euro structure replaces a quickly-built dome in 1986.
The new structure should keep the area safe for 100 years.
A 30km exclusive zone was originally created to keep people away from harmful radiation.
Many smaller mammals still suffer the effects of radiation.
In recent years, tourists have started visiting the area and larger wild animals populations and thriving
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