Chernobyl Repurposed for Solar Energy

Some 100 meters from the infamous Reactor Four at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, a new solar project has been built, providing hope of salvaging something positive from the disaster zone. The 3,800 photovoltaic panels installed in a 16,000 square-meter area are expected to produce a total of 1 megawatt of energy for the local grid—enough power for roughly 2,000 homes, reports Science Alert. “This territory obviously cannot be used for agriculture, but it is quite suitable for innovative and scientific projects,” Ostap Semerak, Ukrainian minister of environment, told AFP in 2016. Ukrainian authorities have opened up roughly 25 square kilometers for solar project developments with 60 proposals currently under consideration. Another 4.2-megawatt solar power plant was recently completed within the irradiated zone in neighboring Belarus. The panels are fixed to concrete slabs as opposed to being put in the ground, as drilling, digging or disturbing the soil in the area in any way is strictly forbidden. It may take an estimated 24,000 years before people can safely inhabit the area again.