In Novyi Buh, an additional ₴10 million will be spent on a solar power station for the water utility

In Novyi Buh, a further ₴10 million will be spent on a solar power station for the water utility. Photo for illustrative purposes from the NikVesti archive

In Novyi Buh, a further 9.8 million hryvnias will be spent on installing solar power stations. This time, the work is planned to take place on the premises of the water utility’s pumping station.

The relevant tender has been published on the ProZorro public procurement system, according to NikVesti.

Funding for the installation of the solar panels is provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partly from the local authority’s budget. In total, the project involves the installation of 318 solar panels. Some of them — 102 panels — will be placed on the roof of the building, whilst a further 216 panels will be installed on special metal structures on the ground. The panels will be grouped into systems and connected to four hybrid inverters, which will convert the electricity generated by the solar panels for use within the building.

Battery systems are also planned: a separate battery rack comprising 10 battery modules will be connected to each of the four inverters. This will enable surplus electricity to be stored and used as required.

In March, a contract worth 15.3 million hryvnias for the electrical installation works was awarded via the Prozorro system. The contractor is the «Dniprotehnika» corporation from Dnipro. The contract was concluded without using the electronic procurement system after two previous procedures failed to take place due to a lack of participants. The connection work was to be carried out on the premises of the Novyi Buh City Council.

The new tender, worth 9,845,807 hryvnias, provides for the major overhaul of the electricity networks, including the connection of equipment for a 200 kW solar power station on the premises of the third-stage pumping station.

The tender documentation states that the contractor is entitled to engage subcontractors to carry out the work. All work must be completed by 20 November this year.

Participants are currently able to submit their bids, and the winner will be selected after 7 September.

It should be noted that at the end of June, councillors of the Novyi Buh City Council approved the allocation of over 2 million hryvnias for work on connecting the solar panels. In total, the community’s budget for 2026 allocates 15.3 million hryvnias to support the municipal enterprise «Water Supply Networks».

Previously, the Novyi Buh community signed a memorandum with UNICEF and secured around 19 million hryvnias in international aid. The funds were allocated to the modernisation of water supply networks, the replacement of pipes and the design of a solar power station.

It was also reported that the Novyi Buh community was unable to save around 500,000 hryvnias on the purchase of water pipes — two companies with cheaper bids refused to sign a contract, citing the escalating situation in the Middle East and logistical problems.