Solar panels cut electricity bill for bombed hospital in Ukraine by half

“Green” Outpatient Clinic in Horenka: One Year of Operation with 43% Savings on Heating and up to 150 Days Solely on the Sun’s Energy

The outpatient clinic in the village of Horenka, Kyiv region, is always crowded. Here you can get first aid and necessary referrals for treatment and vaccination — for both adult and small patients. Besides, since February 2023, the medical facility offers warmth, light, and electricity — even when Russian missiles and drones strive to disable the Ukrainian infrastructure. And the reason is the outpatient clinic, damaged at the beginning of the war, was reconstructed using “green technologies”: solar panels and a heat pump. After a year of operation, both doctors and patients are confident not only in the availability of medical services, but also in the fact that even during blackouts they will have a charged phone and some hot tea.

“This year, the outpatient clinic worked well,” — says the head physician of the outpatient clinic, pediatrician Olena Opanasenko. “We’ve become energy independent, and, thanks to our solar batteries, we can serve all of our patients. At the beginning of this year [2023], when the Russians attacked the Kyiv region with rockets and Horenka had no electricity for some time, people came to us for electrical help! That’s why green energy is just great!”

Though Horenka was not occupied by the Russians at the beginning of the war, the village became one of the most destroyed ones in the Kyiv region — 77% of its territory was damaged. The local outpatient clinic was damaged in March 2022 due to the blast wave from a Russian projectile — its windows were broken and its heating system was destroyed. After the de-occupation of the Kyiv region, the outpatient clinic management and its doctors began searching for opportunities to restore their work. On the initiative of the Gostomel military-civilian administration, Greenpeace — in partnership with the NGO Ekodiya (Ecoaction), Ecoclub, and the charity fund “Victory of Ukraine” — carried out a “green reconstruction” of the clinic. Thus, the outpatient clinic became the first medical institution in Ukraine that was comprehensively restored using the most modern environmental technologies and a pilot Greenpeace facility within the “Green Restoration of Ukraine” project.

In particular, a heat pump with a capacity of 20 kW, which accumulates the warmth of the Earth’s crust and transfers it to the heating system with the help of an external circuit, has been installed in the outpatient clinic. The outpatient clinic roof is covered with solar panels with a capacity of 12 kW. After the first year of operation, the outpatient clinic staff is ready to share their first impressive results.

“In the first year of its operation, the heat pump saved the outpatient clinic 43% on heating costs. The solar power plant provided 55% of the outpatient clinic’s electricity needs. We can live solely on solar power up to 150 days a year!” shares the head of the outpatient clinic’s maintenance department, Ihor Rudyi.

Over the year, the outpatient clinic faced 26 blackouts lasting for 58 hours in total. But, thanks to the sun’s energy, the work of the staff and equipment did not stop for a minute, and the patients did not even notice the blackouts. In the summer of 2023, solar power covered 100% of the outpatient clinic’s consumption. 

The results of the first year of outpatient clinic’s operation could be even more impressive. But, for now, unfortunately, the solar station is not able to work at its full capacity.

In the summer of 2023, the President of Ukraine signed the Law of Ukraine on Self-Production of Electricity, known as the law on “net billing.” It allows solar power plants to sell their excess energy to the grid, and in the event of a shortage, on the contrary, to purchase it. Such a norm is an established global practice helping businesses and social sphere to not only be energy efficient, but also save considerable funds, which in the wartime could be used for crucial state needs. However, the National Commission for State Regulation in the Energy and Utilities Sector (NCSREUS) has not yet managed to develop a documentary base for the operation of the Self-Production mechanism. Such a mechanism would allow the outpatient clinic to use its solar power plant at 100% capacity and cover up to 80% of its consumption.

“The outpatient clinic in Horenka is the first ‘green’ Greenpeace project in Ukraine. It is quite unique, as the clinic was comprehensively restored using green technologies and principles, which in combination demonstrate an excellent economic and environmental result with no carbon emissions into the air,” says Greenpeace project manager Polina Kolodiazhna. “The outpatient clinic in Horenka has exemplified that green recovery is the best option for rebuilding critical infrastructure. The clinic has inspired the Ukrainian government and communities to make hospitals energy independent, while we at Greenpeace are actively working to increase the number of green facilities in Ukraine".