TIU Canada dismantles solar power plant in Nikopol due to unresolved conflict with NFP
TIU Canada (Ekotechnik Nikopol) dismantled the equipment of its solar power plant in Nikopol due to an unresolved conflict with Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (NFP), according to a material on the Voice of America website.
According to Michael Yurkovich, CEO of TIU Canada, after the solar power plant was disconnected from the power grid in March 2020, followed by its downtime and a number of negative court decisions, the owners of NFP offered to sell the plant to them for a pittance, after which it was decided to dismantle it.
"This situation is not unique for the last two years in this country. The governments of the world, other overseas investors, people in the diaspora must admit that this situation does not only affect TIU – it affects many businesses and is getting worse, and we no longer want to play this game," he said.
As reported, on March 2, 2020, NFP completely disconnected a 10.5 MW solar power plant from Ekotechnik Nikopol LLC (TIU Canada) from the power grid. TIU Canada noted that NFP took advantage of the fact that the SPP was connected to a substation located on its territory, and explained the need for shutdown by repair work.
TIU Canada has been operating in Ukraine since 2016. The company put into operation a 10.5 MW SPP in Nikopol in January 2018, and an 11 MW SPP in Mykolaiv region in April 2019. In addition, TIU Canada launched a 33 MW SPP in Odesa region. The company's investments in solar energy, which became the first investor in Ukraine under the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Area Agreement (CUFTA), amounted to over $65 million.
Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is controlled by EastOne Group, established in autumn 2007 as a result of restructuring of Interpipe Group, and Privat Group, both based in Dnipro.