China Plans To Build A Giant Solar Power Plant At Chernobyl

After the recent news of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor being finally cordoned off, there’s another good news for the disaster-stricken area that two Chinese energy firms, CNCE and GCL, have decided to establish a new solar power plant near the Chernobyl exclusion zone nuclear reactor. 

This area was hit with a powerful explosion in 1986, making it inhabitable due to radioactivity in the surrounding area. But it seems that the world is actively working towards bringing back some sort of normalcy to the region. 

Shu Hua, the chairman of GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-SI), which is one of the firms working on the project, commented,

“There will be remarkable social benefits and economic ones as we try to renovate the once damaged area with green and renewable energy.”

The 1,000 square mile exclusion zone has been largely off limits since the 1986 disaster, but after the announcement of the reactor itself being finally covered using a $1.6 billion steel arch, it seems other companies have taken heart and decided to invest in the area.

Although the companies haven’t revealed the details of the cost of the new solar power plant, they, have assured that the area will be safe for workers. They said in a statement,

“Ukraine has passed a law allowing the site to be developed for agriculture and other things, so that means (the radiation) is under control.”

These two Chinese firms have already built a reputation for striving towards clean energy excellence, and have rehabilitated contaminated lands into renewable energy generators in the past as well. The companies have the goodwill of the Chinese Government itself, which seems to be very keen on discouraging urban expansion at the cost of more farmland, and has implemented green technology policies in the past as well. China is also well ahead in the race for global energy dominance, with 72 percent of the total solar power components in the world being produced in the country.