Heart surgeries in Kropyvnytskyi will no longer be affected by power outages
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
When sirens sound in Kropyvnytskyi or power outages occur, work at the Regional Clinical Cardiology Center continues uninterrupted. For medical professionals performing hours-long heart surgeries, a stable power supply is just as critical a tool as a scalpel. In the midst of war, when the power grid has become a target, the hospital has transformed into a place that must protect its patients not only from illness but also from darkness. From now on, this resilience is provided by the sun: a solar power station has begun operating on the center’s roof, serving as an autonomous energy source for the most critical departments.
On April 9, 2026, the official opening of this station took place and it has already become part of the energy security of the entire region. This project is funded through the Ukraine Partnership Facility (UPF). UPF is a program from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The partnership is lead by De Boomgaard Foundation, in partnership with Solarge, Ukrainian-Netherlands Charitable Foundation Lifeline and the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation.
“Every one of our projects in hospitals is a race against time - the time doctors have to save lives. In cardiac surgery this time is measured in seconds. We cannot allow a blackout to become an obstacle to a patient’s heartbeat. This station is a contribution to ensuring that even during such difficult times for Ukraine, medical professionals feel supported, and technology works to protect people,” said Yevheniia Pavliuk, CОO of the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation.
The value of a single second in the operating room
For surgeons at the Regional Clinical Cardiology Center performing surgeries during air raid alerts or the threat of power outages has become a routine challenge. Last year 1,071 surgeries were performed here, 71 of which were open-heart surgeries. At such moments heart-lung machines and vital signs monitors cannot afford even a momentary flicker.
Previously any power outage forced staff to rely on diesel generators which take time to start up. Today the sun takes on this role. A 30 kW solar power station has become a safeguard that automatically sustains life during critical moments.
Energy powering medical advancement
The Cardiology Center is a regional hub that treats nearly 36,000 people annually. To safeguard this flow of patients, 77 solar panels were installed on the roof backed by a 204.8 kWh energy storage system - the largest of any previously built stations. This capacity is sufficient to keep operating rooms and patient transport elevators running for 4 hours during a total blackout.
Beyond safety, the project addresses another critical issue - financial sustainability. Thanks to solar power the hospital will save over 6,700 euros annually. In wartime these funds become a critically important reserve.
The station has been operating since mid-January and has already generated over 3,200 kWh of energy, proving that even during the most difficult months in Ukraine’s history “green” technologies can be a reliable pillar of support for Ukrainian healthcare.
