Nuclear trauma in Ukraine tackled through groundbreaking community efforts
In the heart of Ukraine lies Slavutych, a city with a remarkable history and a promising future. The city, built for evacuated employees of the Chernobyl Power Plant and their families, has a young population of 25,000. Recently, it has become home to SolarTown, a groundbreaking cooperative that is redefining the concept of sustainable energy.
SolarTown, the brainchild of Andrij Zinchenko and his friends, was established in 2018 with a vision to create a flourishing community with a future-proof energy model. The cooperative, the first of its kind in Ukraine, is owned by the city, not a private provider, demonstrating how energy innovations can benefit communities directly.
The founder of SolarTown is Dmytro Shvets, who spearheaded the initiative to raise 145,000 EUR in just four months for the construction of the solar power plants. With the help of local engineers, SolarTown has successfully completed the construction of all three planned solar power plants.
SolarTown currently boasts nearly 100 members and owns three solar plants. Each shareholder invests at least 500 EUR and can expect an annual return of about 130 EUR until 2030. The cooperative's investment scheme is designed to be attractive to a broad range of people, not just the wealthier ones.
The solutions demonstrated by communities like SolarTown show what societal transformation towards a fossil-free future will look like. SolarTown is discussing next projects on solar, biomass, and lighting with other local communities, aiming to make its success available to as many people as possible by scaling up small cooperatives.
Transparency is at the heart of SolarTown's philosophy. All plans are shown to everyone, and questions are answered openly. The cooperative also donates 5% of its annual income for city development, an integral part of its statute.
Looking towards the future, SolarTown plans to join the European federation of citizen energy cooperatives, REScoop.eu, when the first profits come in. The cooperative also aims to share its practice of transparency and experiences to help Ukrainians crowd-fund and initiate projects.
The first investor in SolarTown was a local woman, an energy manager, and two of the largest shareholders are in their 20s. This demonstrates that the cooperative is not just a pioneer in sustainable energy but also in community-led innovation.
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 caused over 10,000 deaths and had lasting health impacts across Europe. SolarTown's journey is a testament to the resilience and forward-thinking spirit of the people of Slavutych, who are transforming their city into a beacon of renewable energy and community care.
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