Sumy City Central Hospital will receive a 60.0 kW solar power plant. The funds for its installation – 27 500 euros – were raised by donors from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. The rest of the funds – 18 600 euros – will be co-financed by the city council. The power plant will guarantee energy security for the medical facility. Thus, the sick and wounded will continue to receive medical care regardless of possible russian attacks.
Sumy Oblast has a border with russia, so in the first days of the full scale russian war it suffered from enemy shelling to this day. Frequent attacks on the energy infrastructure last fall caused unstable operation of medical facilities. Hospitals purchased generators, but their capacity was not enough to provide electricity to all medical buildings. In particular, in 2022, Sumy Hospital received a 500 kW generator from donors, which turns on within 30 seconds in case of power outages. Thanks to this, the medical facility continues to provide care and doctors perform surgeries. However, during such emergencies, there may be problems with patient examinations, according to the hospital staff:
“The X-ray equipment has high power and suffers from power surges. Therefore, we disconnected some of the equipment from the power supply and sent patients for examinations on other equipment. We also used mobile X-ray machines. It is extremely important for us to ensure a continuous treatment process in case of a long power outage. The installed solar power plant will help ensure the functioning of the operating and intensive care units,” says Valentyna Dominas, director of the Central City Hospital in Sumy.
“A minute without electricity can be life-threatening. The construction of the solar power plant will solve the issue of continuous operation of the inpatient department’s medical equipment. The most important thing is the life and health of patients,” emphasizes Marina Dranichenko, Head of the Department of Ecology, Energy Saving and Energy Payments at Sumy City Council.
The Sumy Central City Hospital is a multi-profile institution that provides medical services to residents of the region. Since the beginning of the open war, the medical institution has been treating the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vitaliy is among them. He says that an alternative energy source in the hospital will help patients and the wounded to be sure of their safety during critical situations.
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“The city of Sumy is located in close proximity to the russian border. Unfortunately, the possibility of air strikes remains high. The hospital is still open and should continue to provide medical services to the local population and the military,” says Vitaliy, a soldier.
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The operation of the solar power plant will allow the medical facility to save money on utility bills every year. According to preliminary calculations, the planned energy savings will amount to 457.5 thousand hryvnias per year. Officials of the Sumy City Council say that the saved funds will be used to implement energy efficiency measures in other medical institutions.
“The hospital consumes 293.0 thousand kWh of electricity per year. In the course of its production, the generating company approximately emits 318 tons of carbon dioxide into the environment. The construction of the SPP will reduce emissions by 75 tons,” says Maryna Dranichenko.
Construction of the solar power plant is scheduled to begin in late May. Now Ecoclub together with its foreign partners has started raising funds for solar panels for the next medical institution – Ovruch City Hospital of the Ovruch City Council. The required amount is 27 500 euros. Local authorities plan to allocate part of the funds from the community budget.
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