DTEK and China Machinery Engineering Company (CMEC) have signed an agreement for the design and construction of a 200 MW solar power plant in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine.

The Nikopol solar farm will be the largest solar plant in Ukraine and one of the largest in Europe. CMEC will become an investor in the project as well as a contractor, Kiev-based DTEK said in a statement.

Construction of the Nikopol solar farm is due to start this month (April) and will be completed by the end of 2018. It will be located on the site of a former quarry near the city of Nikopol and will generate over 280 GWh/a.

“The construction of the Nikopol SPP is one of the largest transactions to attract financing to the Ukrainian renewable energy sector,” said DTEK’s CEO Maxim Timchenko. “I am sure this is a positive signal for investors.”

Ukraine has set a target of building up to 5 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2020, reduce energy deficits and cut CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2035.