Kernel Secures $45M EBRD Loan to Build Solar Power Plant

The EBRD has provided a loan to Ukraine’s largest agroholding Kernel to build a 106 MW solar plant, which is the bank’s first credit to the firm since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied (Photo by Kernel) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Kernel, one of Ukraine’s largest agribusiness groups, has secured a $45 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to construct a solar power plant in southern Ukraine. The agreement, signed during the Ukraine-EU Business Summit in Brussels, marks the first time the EBRD has provided financing to Kernel since the start of the full-scale war. The project marks a shift toward distributed renewable energy as Ukraine seeks to decentralize its power grid , which remains highly vulnerable to Russian attacks on generation facilities. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . The total cost of the project is estimated at $86 million, and the EBRD is providing nearly half of the funding. Kernel is in talks with other international creditors to finance part of the remainder, while covering the rest itself. Partial risk coverage is provided by the EU under the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF), a €50 billion ($58.8 billion) mechanism designed to mobilize investments for Ukraine’s modernization and green transition. The project includes the construction of a 106 megawatt (MW) solar power plant equipped with energy storage systems. The plant is expected to produce approximately 141 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity annually, reducing CO2 emissions by 82,500 tons. Kernel plans to integrate it into Ukraine’s Unified Energy System. “Ukraine is experiencing an acute shortage of generation. Our response to these challenges is the development of distributed generation, including solar and wind power, as well as the implementation of energy storage systems,” Ievgen Osypov, Kernel’s CEO, was quoted as saying in the company’s press release . Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Blows Up Druzhba Pump Station After Restoring Druzhba Oil Deliveries to Hungary Slovakian Prime Minister Fico seems to have predicted accurately that once Ukraine got a €90 billion military loan package Hungary had been blocking, Kyiv’s drones might hit Druzhba again. According to Kernel’s statement, it aims to build a renewable energy portfolio of up to 600 MW, with total planned investments of around $400 million. The EBRD deployed a record €2.9 billion ($3.4 billion) in Ukraine in 2025, up from €2.4 billion ($2.82 billion) in 2024. Since February 2022, the bank’s total support for the country has reached €9.1 billion ($10.7 billion), with plans to increase annual financing to €3.3 billion ($3.88 billion) this year. Despite the ongoing war, the EBRD maintains a high risk appetite, with over 90% of its 2025 projects targeting the private sector. In the energy domain, the bank previously allocated €160 million ($188 million) to fuel and gas station network Ukrnafta for gas-fired distributed generation and €60 million ($70.5 million) to the OKKO Group for wind farm construction. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.