Article content

Ukraine is talking to one of France’s largest energy companies about building a giant, billion-euro ($1.25 billion) solar park in the uninhabited radioactive zone surrounding the abandoned Chornobyl nuclear reactor.

Engie is beginning a pre-feasibility study funded by the French government next week with the results expected for the end of the year, Ukraine’s minister of ecology, Ostap Semerak, said in a Friday interview in London.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Chornobyl's radioactive zone may get a giant, billion-dollar solar park Back to video

“France’s experience in nuclear is one of the reasons that we wanted to work with them,” Semerak said. “They approached us after we announced our intention to develop renewables in Chornobyl.”

A spokesman at Engie confirmed that the company is in discussions with the Ukrainian government but declined to comment on the project size. The utility is one of 60 companies that have expressed interest, according to Semerak.