Sun Instead of Atom: China Wants to Build Solar Power Plant in Chernobyl

According to the Ukrainian Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, China proposed to build a solar power plant near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

China has expressed interest in construction of a 1,000-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Ukraine's Chernobyl exclusion zone, the press service of the Ukrainian Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry said Wednesday.

"The Chinese side has proposed to build a 1,000 MW solar power plant in Ukraine near Chernobyl nuclear power plant… The approximate cost of the proposed project is $1.5-1.8 billion," the press service said.

The Chernobyl power plant was destroyed in a meltdown on April 26, 1986. An area of over 80,000 square miles was contaminated by the radioactive fallout in the then Ukrainian Soviet Republic, as well as in Belarus, Russia and the Baltic region.