The 2025 edition of Solar & Storage Live UK brought together a gathering of solar professionals and experts, ranging from scientists to industry titans.
One such titan in attendance was Jonathan Bates, Managing Director of Photon Energy, renowned for his distinguished career in the renewable energy sector.
However, as the UK Ambassador for the RePower Ukraine Foundation, Jonathan is also dedicating his expertise to a humanitarian mission.
In this interview, he discusses the vital role of solar and storage in protecting essential services in Ukraine and outlines the huge task ahead.
“I want them to think that [our mission] is something they can help with, because it’s really very easy: cash, kit, time.”
Our last conversation with RePower Ukraine was at Solar & Storage Live UK 2024. Can you talk to us about the impact of your hospital project?
Jonathan: We’ve successfully implemented my first project, or the first project that I’ve been involved in, which was for a hospital in a community in eastern Ukraine, in a small town called Slobozhanske.
It’s a 36KW PV system with 36KWh of battery storage and 30KW worth of inverters on a small local hospital that treats about 50,000 patients a year.
The system was donated by various companies within the UK solar industry. My company, Photon Energy, donated the solar panels. CGEN donated the inverter and the battery storage unit. Then, between us and Midsummer, we raised a further £15,000 in cash to fund the installation, the shipping, the mounting system, the scaffolding, cabling, and all the rest of the balance of system.
It was finally shipped from the UK to Ukraine in May this year, installed in the end of June/beginning of July, and they had a formal opening of the system just a couple of weeks ago in Ukraine.
I travelled out to the opening and attended in person. I was given a tour of the system, which is fully operational and very neatly and well-installed, which was a plus.
It was fantastic to speak with the medical staff at the hospital, who explained the real benefits and impacts that the system is having. It means that they can still provide emergency power when there’s a power cut.
They can rely on the solar and batteries to provide power to X-ray, maternity, and all those sorts of units where you absolutely don’t want power to stop.
It was just really inspiring to see these communities living under horrendous conditions – they’re 50km from the front line – and just seeing that life goes on as normal.
The community is having to get by and exist in difficult circumstances, and it’s really quite inspiring, I guess, to see them doing that.
What has been the impact of RePower’s other projects in Ukraine this year?
Jonathan: The hospital project is the second project that’s been organised by RePower in Slobozhanske.
The other project was a water pumping system, helping to pump water around the town, because the power infrastructure had been very badly damaged. There have been two projects completed in Slobozhanske. We are now working to fund and organise another two projects in eastern Ukraine.
I’ve actually got a list of over 100 hospitals that are looking for this kind of support, because hospitals have been deliberately targeted by the Russians in Ukraine.
There’s a huge amount of work to be done today to just ensure they can continue to deliver basic services, but also in the future when the country’s going to have to be rebuilt. There’s going to be a massive reconstruction effort taking place, and it’s a massive task.
What logistical challenges has RePower Ukraine faced over the last year?
Jonathan: Staffing is a problem. A lot of people are fighting at the front, and so having people to do the installation is a challenge.
One of the other things RePower does is run training programmes for veterans and for internally displaced people so that they can train or retrain to become solar designers and solar installers.
It’s a recognised problem, and the charity is trying to do something about it. To date, they’ve run three training courses. The last one was funded by Mercy Corps from the US. It’s a challenge; the staffing of the organisation is a challenge. People are trying to live and work in essentially wartime conditions.
When I was there, alarms were going off in the middle of the night. You’re woken up and you have to decide whether you are going to the bomb shelter or not.
People with children are having a difficult life because the children are suffering from anxiety, and are scared when they see birds or drones overhead. RePower are doing what it can under very difficult circumstances.
One of the key issues they face is funding. Not just funding for the individual projects, but the core funding for the organisation, so that they can keep hold of their staff who are dedicated, very capable, committed, highly skilled people. But keeping them is a problem.
Did visiting RePower Ukraine’s projects in person make a personal impact on you?
Jonathan: It’s made me more committed completely! It’s a fantastic country, and a very, very friendly country. The people there are defending us all. You see the sacrifices the people are making.
If you go to the Maidan, the main square in Kyiv, and see the flags and the memorials. they are very moving. You realise that they’re not just defending Ukraine, they’re defending Western Europe and they’re defending us all.
In my opinion, we have to give something back. We must support them in every way we can. Having been there, I’m twice as committed as I was.
In a year’s time at Solar & Storage Live UK 2026, what successes do you hope to share with us?
Jonathan: As I said, Greenpeace have given me a list of 100 hospitals. Whether we can get all of those done, I don’t know. But I’d certainly like another 10 done by this time next year.
It’s not just me; there’s a whole team of people who are committed to this, who are working towards meeting the charity’s objectives.
There’s a team of us in the UK. We get a lot of support from Solar Energy UK, which is opening doors to its membership. They’re opening doors to other organisations that we can then try and convince to support the charity and to make a real difference and have a real impact today.
Overall, when you speak to people about RePower Ukraine at this year’s show, what message do you want them to take away?
Jonathan: I want them to think that [our mission] is something they can help with, because it’s really very easy: cash, kit, time.
If people have experience in fundraising or have something they can do to help, then the more of us the merrier.
There are a lot of companies out there that want to help, and the onus is on me and the rest of us who are helping RePower to turn their desire to help into concrete actions, real systems, and implementation.
To find out more about RePower Ukraine or to donate, follow the link here.
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