Nibulon expands solar power infrastructure across Ukrainian grain elevators
Each plant covers between 25% and 50% of an elevator’s electricity needs, depending on its operating mode.
UKRAINE – Leading agricultural exporter Nibulon has expanded its renewable energy infrastructure by installing ground-mounted solar power plants at three additional grain elevator branches: Bessarabska, Zolotoniska, and Denykhivska.
This expansion brings the total number of Nibulon grain elevators equipped with dedicated solar power generation to five, accounting for more than 20% of the company’s total storage facility capacity.
The newly installed photovoltaic systems feature individual capacities of up to 350 kW. Each facility is equipped with modern Huawei inverters and 546 to 566 bifacial solar panels, each with an output of up to 620 watts.
Depending on the specific operational mode, the solar units cover between 25% and 50% of an individual elevator’s energy demands, providing critical operational continuity and efficiency.
Beyond direct energy generation, the installations are engineered for maximum operational flexibility.
Integrated grid connection technology coupled with specialized ENcombi controllers allows the facilities to operate seamlessly alongside grid power or switch to hybrid mode with backup diesel generators during power outages.
Operating solar generation concurrently with generators substantially reduces fuel usage during emergency grid disruptions, a key benefit given the recurring energy infrastructure challenges across the region.
The system design also enables Nibulon to reduce electricity purchases from the open market while allowing the company to feed excess power into the regional distribution grid as an active market participant.
The solar power additions align directly with Nibulon’s long-term sustainability strategy outlined in its decarbonization roadmap.
According to its 2025 Sustainability Report, the company aims to equip 30% of its grain elevator complexes with solar power plants by 2030.
Beyond energy, Nibulon reduced fuel consumption in its agricultural production by 1.4% per hectare during 2025, moving toward a target of a 10% cut by 2030.
The wider sustainability report also references an 86% waste-return rate and a 5% share of hybrid vehicles in its fleet.
Nibulon’s expansion demonstrates how solar generation is increasingly becoming part of the modernization strategy for Ukraine’s grain infrastructure.
Nibulon, one of Ukraine’s leading grain trading and logistics companies, operates a network of elevators and transshipment terminals along the Dnipro and Southern Buh rivers, and has continued investing in its infrastructure even as the country’s agricultural sector faces disruption from the ongoing war.
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