At the beginning of March, Willi Ernst from the Biohaus Foundation personally helped load the truck with a forklift to send off the latest shipment. A week later, the transport reached its destinations in Ukraine. The systems are now being installed by women solar installers trained by Greenpeace.
Next Ukraine aid shipment underway – further donations urgently needed
The Biohaus Foundation has spent almost €70,000 on solar equipment and storage systems since the beginning of the year, with around €30,000 coming from donations. This time, three combined heat and power units with capacities of 5, 50 and 52 kW were delivered to schools in Ukraine.
These are relatively modest costs for assistance that takes effect immediately. With solar generators, hospitals can operate largely independently of the grid. Even as the harsh winter slowly draws to a close, Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure continue unabated.
Biohaus Foundation seeks support for Ukraine
In addition, 16 pallets of solar modules totalling 196 kW were shipped for three hospitals. A battery system rated at 30 kW with 62 kWh of storage capacity and several inverters have also been unloaded. “Each transport costs around €5,000 in addition to purchasing the components,” says Willi Ernst. The solar equipment and storage systems are destined for recipients in Boyarka, Brovary, Cherkasy, Teofipol, Obukhiv and Kamianets-Podilskyi.
More than 100 hospitals on the waiting list
For more than a year, the Biohaus Foundation in Paderborn has been working with Greenpeace and EU logistical channels to purchase solar installations, CHP units and storage systems, ship them to Ukraine and support local installers during installation. In 2025, Greenpeace trained 30 women as solar installers. Another 50 are expected to follow this year.
Greenpeace pilot brings heat pumps and solar to Ukrainian community
The importance of solar islands
As Ukraine’s fossil and nuclear energy system has largely collapsed, solar-powered islands with battery storage are becoming vital. “More and more hospitals realise that this allows them to become independent while significantly reducing their energy costs,” says Polina Kolodiazhna of Greenpeace in Kyiv. “The hospitals and the municipalities that run them also contribute to the financing, and that is extremely important.”
Among other projects, 50 kW of solar modules were installed on the roof of a hospital in Chortkiv in the west of the country. The system provides 30,000 kWh of electricity per year for the maternity ward and for newborns and their mothers.
New info channel – We stand with Ukraine
Another 17,000 kWh supply the infectious diseases department. Around 70% of the hospital’s electricity demand is now covered by solar power. “The hospital saves around 470,000 hryvnias per year,” calculates Greenpeace expert Marina Abramian. One thousand hryvnias correspond to about €20. Larger hospitals can save up to one million hryvnias, equivalent to around €50,000 every year.
The Biohaus Foundation is recognised as a non-profit organisation by the German tax authorities. It issues tax-deductible donation receipts for private individuals and companies, as does Greenpeace for private donors. (HS)
Anyone wishing to support the project in Ukraine can contact Willi Ernst at willi.ernst@biohaus-stiftung.org.
Website of the Biohaus Foundation and Greenpeace cooperation in Ukraine
