21 Nov Chinese companies to build solar plant at Chernobyl disaster site
Two Chinese companies plan to build a 1GW solar power plant in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-SI), a GCL subsidiary, will work with China National Complete Engineering Corp (CCEC) to build the plant in an area which has been off limits since a deadly explosion in 1986.
CCEC will lead the project, which is due to commence construction next year, while GCL-SI will provide and install solar components.
“There will be remarkable social benefits and economic ones as we try to renovate the once damaged area with green and renewable energy,” GCL-SI chairman Shu Hua said in a press release.
He added the plant is part of the group’s objective to build an international presence.
The Chernobyl reactor, which is due to be covered next year by a US$1.6 billion steel-clad arch, is surounded by a 2,600km2 exclusion zone of forest and marshland.