FROM MONTANA TO KHARKIV: AN INTERNATIONAL STORY OF SUCCESS AND COOPERATION
In recent months, the Solar Panel Project of Ukraine championed an incredible feat, delivering nearly 200 solar panels across more than 8,500 kilometers of land and sea to the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI): all made possible by passionate volunteers, exceptional international cooperation, and caring donors. The Solar Panel Project of Ukraine—a fiscally-sponsored program of SFSU—transferred four tons of equipment from an American-based nonprofit in Montana to KPI. At KPI, the solar panels will be incorporated into the Institute's off-grid energy system, while smaller samples will be used for educational and research programs.
The project began with a Montana-based nonprofit decommissioning a national park’s solar array. An employee of the nonprofit sought a good cause to repurpose multiple tons of its highly advanced equipment and contacted Andy Lenec, the lead for the Solar Panel Project of Ukraine. Without hesitation, Andy affirmed SFSU’s interest in the panels and reached out to Dr. Ksenia Minakova from KPI, with whom he had already worked with his good friend from the East Coast, Rotarian Pat Strong.
Dr. Ksenia Minakova, a researcher and professor in KPI’s Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics and well-known professor for her projects in alternative energy, including the one that Lenec had worked on. Upon being introduced to the Projects’ intention to contribute a large array of solar panels, Dr. Minakova promptly identified multiple uses for the prospective delivery. Familiar with russia’s barbaric assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout the length of the ongoing russo-Ukrainian war, Andy concluded that KPI—a Ukrainian national university with a notable history in technological innovation—was well-suited to put the large stock of solar panels SFSU had to offer to good use.
Throughout the process, Andy and Dr. Minakova were critical leaders of what became a successful coordination campaign for the shipment of the solar panels. Andy proudly attributes this resounding success story to the assistance of talented and dedicated individuals throughout the whole endeavor. Among the identified talents mobilized by Andy and SFSU are Dr. Jane Zelikova, Ulana Bihun, Krista Yedidovich, Alex Yedidovich, and Charlie Wesley. These individuals did the ‘in-between’ of the project, facilitating the solar panels’ international trip.
Dr. Zelikova and Ms. Bihun played instrumental roles in administering the solar power project. Krista Yedidovich, the in-house logistics expert of The Solar Panel Project, coordinated the shipping and customs of the delivery alongside Alex Yedidovich, who was responsible for the safe handling and preparation of the panels for international shipment. Charlie Wesley, the CEO of Gulfhawk Logistics and a helping hand of the project since its initiation, arranged SFSU’s packing and transportation of the solar panels to its Colorado warehouse. Other individuals who substantially supported the project include a representative of the contributing nonprofit and a multitude of project donors who opted to remain anonymous.
Many hands contributed to this massive, volunteer-run project, and countless stand to benefit from it. With the help of forward-looking individuals like Andy, Minakova, the Yedidoviches, and others, this special project of SFSU sent four tons of equipment over a daunting roadmap from Montana to Ukraine. In the span of a year, the Solar Project for Ukraine and SFSU volunteers turned a decommissioned energy grid into a transformative addition to KPI's energy and educational capabilities and a demonstration of solidarity, commitment, and cooperation between the U.S. and a prominent Ukrainian institution. Thanks to the successful delivery, the faculty and students of KPI look forward to this addition to the university’s energetic and educational capabilities.
