Oleksandr Afanasenko
Director of the company "Dela Energy Systems"
Kyiv, Ukraine
Introduction
The renewable energy market has undergone a systemic transformation in recent years. The phase of relatively “simple solutions” - when utility-scale solar power plants (SPPs) could be built on prepared, flat sites with pre-existing access roads and grid infrastructure - has, in practical terms, come to an end. Current development practice increasingly brings into circulation territories with pronounced technical constraints, which has fundamentally raised the bar for EPC contractors and for their engineering and project-management capabilities.
In the realities of the Ukrainian energy market, classical waterfall approaches to project management frequently show limited effectiveness. Regulatory frameworks shaped by the green-economy agenda intersect with logistics uncertainty and with the technological requirement to integrate new generation assets into distribution networks that are both morally and physically worn. Under such conditions, the value of adaptive management methodologies grows - methodologies that allow rapid adjustment of design decisions and iterative rebuilding of schedules in response to shifting risks and external constraints. Achieving target project parameters is determined not only by the qualitative characteristics of equipment, but also by a project team’s capacity to make non-trivial engineering decisions directly on site (“on-site engineering”), as well as to assume end-to-end responsibility for upgrading external infrastructure required for grid connection and power evacuation.
The implementation experience drawn from the project portfolio of “Dela Energy Systems” is summarized below. It demonstrates, in a fairly unambiguous way, that managerial flexibility combined with innovative engineering makes it possible to shorten commissioning timelines - even when obstacles of a critical nature are present.
Engineering Adaptability on Low-Bearing-Capacity Soils: The “Tavanska 1” SPP Case
A revealing example of project delivery under extreme geotechnical constraints is the ground-mounted solar power plant “Tavanska 1” in the Beryslav District of Kherson Oblast, with an installed capacity of 8.56 MW. The initial conditions imposed a substantial design and execution burden: the site was formed on the territory of a former landfill - an asset that, in conventional development logic, would be classified as high-risk. Key adverse factors included the need for large-scale remediation with removal of surface waste, a heterogeneous terrain with slopes that intensified erosion processes, and critically weak soils that effectively ruled out the use of standard wheeled construction equipment without disproportionate expenditures of time and resources.
To meet a directive commissioning horizon in 2018, a management configuration grounded in parallel engineering principles was adopted. Rather than pursuing prolonged ground stabilization for wheeled machinery - an approach capable of stretching the preparatory cycle for months - a radical logistics-and-technology reconfiguration was implemented: the mechanization fleet was revised in favor of tracked machines, which ensured acceptable mobility and ground-bearing performance on soft soils across all stages, from grading operations to installation works.
Given the risk of pile foundation washout under intense rainfall loads and in the presence of slopes, the design and implementation of an additional organized stormwater drainage system were carried out in parallel with construction and installation works. This hydrotechnical measure reduced the probability of further degradation of foundation bearing capacity and, as a consequence, lowered long-term risks of failures in steel structures and supporting elements.
To minimize operational variability, the plant’s technological configuration relied on Tier-1 equipment: SMA inverters (Germany), Jinko PV modules (China), and KBE cable products (Germany). The supporting steel structures were produced with localized manufacturing in Ukraine, which shortened the logistics chain and improved control over delivery timelines.
As a result, the facility was commissioned with a tariff at the level of 15.03 eurocents. Average annual insolation of approximately 1270 kWh/m² supports generation that enables an annual reduction of electricity consumption from the grid by 11,128 MWh. This case demonstrates that adaptive management of mechanization and hydrotechnical solutions can convert a technically illiquid territory into an economically effective energy asset.
Managing the Critical Path Through External Grid Reconstruction: The “Asteria” SPP Case
The “Asteria” SPP project (6.4 MW, 2019, Kherson Oblast) represents a textbook example of how a proactive EPC contractor role in interaction with the distribution system operator (DSO) can preserve a project’s investment viability. The site was located within the service yard of a large agricultural enterprise and, from the outset, was characterized by significant engineering and planning complications: there were silage pits up to 8 meters deep, as well as massive foundations of dismantled structures. Preparatory earthworks required the use of the heaviest tamping rollers available in Ukraine; however, the decisive risk factor was not so much site development as the provision of grid connection.
A typical connection scenario implied a lengthy reconstruction of the “Vysokovska” substation by the regional utility, which created a threat of missing the schedule and, consequently, losing the ability to secure the “green” tariff within the required time window. Within the chosen management model, a decision was made to assume responsibility and finance the full scope of reconstruction of the “Vysokovska” transformer substation. This approach extended beyond the traditional perimeter of EPC obligations; yet it was precisely the transfer of control into the external infrastructure contour that made it possible to manage the project’s critical path and reduce dependence on external regulatory and procedural cycles.
Reconstruction measures were executed in an exceptionally compressed schedule regime, providing an infrastructure “afterburner” without breaking alignment with the construction-and-installation calendar. In parallel, on the construction site - considering the high groundwater level and low structural stability of soils - a non-standard engineering scheme for access-road construction was implemented, oriented toward preserving subgrade bearing capacity and maintaining uninterrupted delivery logistics regardless of weather conditions.
The achieved effect was expressed in a three-month reduction in commissioning time, a parameter that is decisive for investment models rigidly tied to tariff windows. The plant demonstrated generation indicators of 1531 kWh/m² (total irradiation) and ensured a reduction of grid electricity consumption by 8320 MWh per year. The result empirically confirms that a modern EPC model must cover management not only of the internal construction contour, but also of risks associated with external grid infrastructure that ultimately defines project economics.
Innovation as a Tool for Increasing Profitability: In-House TP Developments
Under intensifying competition in the renewable energy market, typical engineering approaches often create a “ceiling” for economic efficiency, prompting a shift toward solutions aimed at controlled reduction of total cost of ownership. Within the engineering department of “Dela Energy Systems,” under the supervision of the responsible lead, a specialized concept of packaged transformer–inverter substations was developed, delivering both technical and financial effects. An optimized equipment layout simplified installation operations and reduced energy losses at the transformation stage, while an increased share of local content - combined with targeted tuning of performance characteristics - made it possible to raise the “green” tariff rate by 5% relative to the baseline level. This outcome illustrates the applied potential of Value Engineering, in which engineering innovation translates directly into growth of the investment project’s IRR (internal rate of return).
Accumulated competence in delivering technically complex brownfield-format facilities became a foundation for strengthening positions in the industrial solar segment, primarily rooftop SPPs for enterprises’ own consumption. Project execution for major industrial customers, including Nestlé, MHP (Myronivsky Hliboproduct), and Obolon, imposes qualitatively different requirements on process governance, because construction takes place on active production sites. A critical constraint is the inadmissibility of stopping technological cycles, combined with strict HSE (Health, Safety, Environment) requirements. Practical resolution of these constraints was ensured through the development of detailed method statements (work execution plans) with hour-by-hour decomposition of operations, along with integration of SPP safety systems into existing enterprise safety contours - preserving schedule predictability without compromises in occupational safety and industrial safety.
Application of this strategy supported stable performance indicators: an average annual commissioning volume at the level of 10 MW, an estimated share of the Ukrainian rooftop SPP market of about 25%, and consistent wins on tender platforms, where defense of technical solutions was conducted by the direction lead directly before customers’ top management. At the same time, the trajectory toward leadership was nonlinear: in the early stages of sector development, considerable investor distrust toward innovative products and toward alternative energy as a reliable business model was observed, requiring a combination of engineering argumentation with systematic explanatory work. Active deployment of renewable energy facilities - specifically solar - on sites previously perceived as unsuitable, including waste landfills and complex industrial zones, formed a body of evidence supported by successful cases and thereby reduced market barriers; solutions defended 5–7 years ago are currently consolidating as an industry norm.
A proactive stance is also evident in participation in shaping the regulatory environment: interaction with the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on energy and housing and communal services, as well as engagement in профильные exhibitions (REF.UA, ECOENERGY EXPO), enables the transmission of practical project-delivery experience into the arena of discussion and preparation of sector-wide decisions at the national level.
Conclusion
The delivery practice of “Tavanska 1,” “Asteria,” and a substantial number of industrial solar projects confirms that the defining competence in modern renewable energy construction is adaptability as a managerial-and-engineering property of the project. The readiness of an EPC contractor to operate effectively on “inconvenient” sites, assume risks associated with reconstruction of regional utility grid infrastructure, and implement proprietary R&D developments - including transformer–inverter substations - creates the ability to achieve target parameters under hard time and technical constraints.
Solar energy has evolved from a predominantly installation-focused discipline into a complex high-technology industry where outcomes are determined by the synergy of deepened geotechnical substantiation, innovative design solutions, and management practices oriented toward intensive - yet professionally calibrated - critical-path execution. The transformation of degraded territories and industrial rooftops into sources of clean generation acquires significance not only as an economic task, but also as a factor strengthening Ukraine’s energy security and sustainable development.