9 January 2024
By Cosmo Sanderson
A GE turbine in Ukraine (click here) has been destroyed and a wind farm partially shut down following a “massive night attack” by Russian drones, said local industry officials.
UK developer Elementum Energy partially shut down its 100MW Dnistrovska wind farm after it was damaged yesterday, the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) told Recharge.
An amateur video seen by Recharge shows what the UWEA says is a 5.5MW GE turbine collapsed to the ground, with others still standing around it.
It is unclear if the attack specifically targeted the wind farm, but Russia has launched waves of attacks on Ukraine’s energy system since invading the country in 2022.
UWEA said it “cannot disclose more detailed information about the nature of the damage and losses” because local police have opened criminal proceedings and an investigation into the incident.
However it confirmed that no wind farm employees were injured.
The UWEA said the attack was a Russian “terrorist act” against Ukraine and its energy security.
It added that the incident has “become the subject of several fakes about unfavourable weather conditions that led to the damage.”
Elementum, which has offices in London and Kyiv, is an independent power producer focused on the development and operation of renewable energy assets in Ukraine, where it reports having 540MW of capacity.
It is owned by London-based hedge fund VR Capital.
Elementum brought the 40MW first stage of its Dnistrovska wind farm, featuring ten GE 137-4.0 MW wind turbines, online in 2021....
