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UNIT.City Kicks-Off Construction of a 1.3 MW Solar Plant to Boost Energy Independence

by Roman Cheplyk
Thursday, May 8, 2025
2 MIN
UNIT.City Kicks-Off Construction of a 1.3 MW Solar Plant to Boost Energy Independence

Kyiv’s flagship innovation park installs parking-lot PV canopy to cut grid reliance, lower costs and enhance year-round comfort for tenants and visitors

Key Takeaways

  • Capacity: 1.3 megawatts of solar generation.

  • Location: Rooftop of the upper parking deck at UNIT.City, Kyiv.

  • Goals: Greater energy autonomy, reduced electricity bills, shaded parking, and lower carbon footprint.

  • Developer: UNIT.City, part of Vasyl Khmelnytskyi’s UFuture holding.


Why This Matters

  1. Energy Resilience for Ukraine’s Tech Hub
    With intermittent power supply still a reality, on-site renewables help protect resident startups, R&D labs and data-heavy businesses from outages.

  2. Immediate Sustainability Impact
    The photovoltaic (PV) canopy is projected to offset hundreds of tonnes of CO₂ annually, aligning UNIT.City with global ESG benchmarks that many international tenants require.

  3. Added Comfort & Revenue Streams
    Shaded parking improves user experience while the plant’s daytime surplus can be fed into micro-grid storage or sold under Ukraine’s green tariff, further monetising the asset.


About UNIT.City & UFuture

  • UNIT.City: Opened in 2017 on the grounds of the former Kyiv Motorcycle Plant, the park hosts 100+ resident companies, VC funds, accelerators and R&D centres.

  • UFuture Holding: Diversified portfolio spanning real estate, industry, renewables, pharma and IT. Asset value ≈ $500 million; aggregate business capitalisation ≈ $1 billion.


Strategic Focus After Portfolio Optimisation

Since 2024 UFuture has streamlined operations to concentrate capital on the Kyiv campus. Assets such as LvivTech.City were divested and the Kharkiv project offered for sale, freeing resources to accelerate core infrastructure like the new solar plant.


Next Steps

  • Construction Timeline: Site works have begun; commissioning is targeted for Q3 2025.

  • Future Upgrades: Plans include battery storage integration and additional rooftop PV across new UNIT.City phases.

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