Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, announced plans on Jan. 22 to invest 450 million euros ($468 million) in expanding the Tyligulska Wind Power Plant near the Black Sea coast.
DTEK, which is owned by Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov, lost nearly 90% of its generation capacity in 2024 due to Russia's aerial attacks targeting Ukraine's power grid.
The company said it reached a financing deal with lenders to purchase 64 wind turbines from Danish manufacturer Vestas, a world leader in turbine production.
By expanding the facility from 19 to 83 turbines, the project aims to increase the wind farm's capacity fourfold, from 114 megawatts (MW) to 500 MW, DTEK said. The project is expected to be completed by late 2026 and generate 1.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, enough to power 900,000 Ukrainian homes.
Of the 450-million-euro investment, 370 million euros ($385 million) will be financed through bank loans guaranteed by Denmark's state-owned Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), with the remainder funded by DTEK.
"The commitment is the largest private sector investment in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and the biggest ever private investment in Ukraine’s energy sector," the company said in a press release.
The Tyligulska plant, which became operational in May 2023, is located in Mykolaiv Oblast, approximately 400 kilometers south of Kyiv, and consists of 19 Danish company Vestas-supplied wind turbines.
DTEK signed a memorandum of understanding with Vestas in December 2023, aiming to construct the largest wind farm in Eastern Europe.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
