Climate Changed
Radiation Is Put to Good Use for Once in Chernobyl
The infamous nuclear wasteland is now home to the world’s unlikeliest green energy experiment.
A solar park aims to produce clean energy beside the ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Photographer: Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg
A hundred yards from the rusting ruins at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, a gossamer array of almost 4,000 photovoltaic panels sits atop a thick concrete slab capping a grave of radioactive waste.
When it comes to clean energy, it’s hard to think of a less likely place than Ukraine’s infamous Chernobyl nuclear plant. But final preparations are being made to generate electricity again, this time using safer power from the sun.