The country that's turning to solar during war

Nuclear disaster is not just an abstract concept in Ukraine. It is both history and an ongoing threat that is pushing communities to turn to the sun for energy. https://p.dw.com/p/5Ch74As Russia takes out energy infrastructure, Ukraine is bringing more renewable energy sources onlineImage: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/IMAGOAdvertisementIn autumn 2024, Russia launched massive aerial assaults on Ukraine, pounding its energy system and raising fears about the safety of its nuclear power plants. Several reactors were disconnected from the grid. One shut down entirely. "It wasn't that we were scared," said Shaun Burnie, recalling that night. "It was that we were terrified." For Burnie, a Greenpeace veteran nuclear specialist who has worked in some of the most radioactive places on Earth, the danger lay in what could have followed. Nuclear plants rely on a constant external power supply to run cooling systems for the reactor core and spent fuel. If the grid buckles and plants disconnect, they switch to diesel generators. In a worst-case scenario, if they can't reconnect, cooling systems fail and reactors overheat. Ukraine knows what that means. On April 26, 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands from the area and contaminating large parts of Europe. "Chernobyl is part of our collective memory. Everyone has family or community stories about it," said Lena Kondratiuk, a 25-year-old from Rivne in western Ukraine. "And now, during the war, this meaning has become even more real." Chernobyl at 40: A legacy beyond radioactivityTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Though Ukraine still depends on nuclear energy for more than half of its electricity and plans to build more reactors, the worst-case scenario hasn't happened. But the threat remains as Russia continues to target energy infrastructure. More than half of Ukraine's power generation capacity has been damaged or destroyed. UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has called the situation "the world's biggest threat to nuclear safety." Because large, centralized plants — nuclear, coal or gas — that generate huge amounts of electricity in one place are such easy targets, decentralization is an attractive idea. And that also means more renewable energy, which is harder to target, cheaper to fix and faster to deploy. Chris Aylett, an energy specialist at Chatham House, a UK think tank, said that while a single missile can take out a 250-megawatt coal plant, it would require 40 to destroy the same capacity in wind generation. Solar parks are also more resistant. "If there is damage to that, it doesn't necessarily need to take everything out — you could swap new panels in," Aylett said. These benefits are driving Ukrainian energy companies and NGOs to push renewables. Rooftop solar now covers hospitals, schools and public buildings. In 2025, the country installed enough to power over a million homes, all while under fire. Kondratiuk is part of that effort. She joined the NGO Ecoclub as a volunteer at 18, before taking on a job as renewables analyst there in 2020. After Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022, the organization shifted from advocacy work and launched the Solar Aid for Ukraine campaign, as power outages became a part of daily life. At 21, she began managing projects. At first, she was daunted by the responsibility but agreed to it "because of the war, because I understand that, for example, I can die tomorrow." Like many Ukrainians, she has learned to adapt. Her work now takes her all over the country, including south to Mykolaiv, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the front line. On her first trip to the city, it was being shelled and running on diesel generators. "I didn't want to come back to the city because I'm scared," she said. Now Kondratiuk makes the 13-hour trip around once a month, even as Russia targets passenger trains. She loves it there because of the people. "They teach that even during wartime, it's still possible to find happy moments in your life and continue it." Despite the risks, Kondratiuk has helped bring nearly 90 solar systems online. In places like Mykolaiv, these systems are more than green energy; they are lifelines. "Renewable energy in Ukraine is not about the climate and sustainability; it's about surviving now," said Kondratiuk. "It's about the access to basic needs." These solar and battery systems keep water utilities running during blackouts. They also enable hospitals to operate and children to charge their phones during outages so they can keep in touch with their parents. One project she worked on installed solar panels at a care home for women with mental health and neurological conditions. Before the installation, staff woke at 4 a.m. to prepare meals in advance of power cuts, but patients often went without warm food. "And aft

The country that's turning to solar during war

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