Solar Panel Donation Arrives in Ukraine to Support Families Displaced by War

SolarSense’s Second Solar Panel Donation Arrives in Ukraine

Hundreds of donated solar panels collected in the UK have arrived safely in Ukraine. The 390 working panels reached their final destination this weekend, after a journey across Europe organised by SolarSense with humanitarian partners Ukraine Focus and Rev Alan Bain.

The panels will be delivered to churches providing accommodation and meals for people displaced by fighting in the east of the country. It’s the second time SolarSense has sent solar panels to Ukraine, following a 500-panel donation in November 2025.

 

From a commercial rooftop to western Ukraine

The panels for this latest donation were collected from a SolarSense client renewing its existing solar array. Although they were being replaced, the panels were still in good working order and had plenty of generating life left in them.

Rather than sending them for recycling, SolarSense arranged for the panels to be reused where they could make the biggest difference. They were loaded in Bristol in September and transported more than a thousand miles to western Ukraine.

It’s a model SolarSense has used before. When businesses upgrade older solar systems, working panels can be repurposed for charities and communities, cutting waste and putting clean power to use for years to come.

With power cuts a constant risk, a reliable source of clean electricity can help keep cooking, lighting and essential services running for the people who depend on it – particularly as Ukraine heads into another winter, when demand for power is at its highest and the impact of outages is felt most.

 

A partnership decades in the making

The donation was made possible by two long-standing partners. Ukraine Focus is a Washington DC-based humanitarian organisation that channels support from around the world into Ukraine. It also worked with SolarSense on last year’s donation, getting panels to farms, hospitals and veterans’ homes.

Rev Alan Bain is a retired minister from Bath who has worked with churches in Ukraine for 20 years. His relationship with SolarSense goes back even further. Since the late 1990s, he and the SolarSense team have worked together on solar projects in deprived areas of Uganda and India.

“We couldn’t be prouder to work with this amazing group of people as they respond to the devastating impact of war. Alain and I have been working together since the late 1990s, first in Uganda and India and now in Ukraine, and the principle has never changed: reliable, clean power changes what a community can do for itself.

“In previous visits to Ukraine I’ve seen how much depends on keeping the lights on. A church that is housing and feeding displaced families needs electricity to cook, to heat water and simply to give people somewhere warm and safe to be. These panels won’t solve everything, but they will make a real difference to the people sheltering there this winter.” – Stephen Barrett, Founder of SolarSense

 

SolarSense’s second donation to Ukraine

This delivery brings the total number of solar panels SolarSense has sent to Ukraine to 890. In November 2025, SolarSense and AUMA Actuators donated 500 panels, many of them removed during an upgrade to AUMA’s clean energy system in Clevedon. Working with Ukraine Focus, those panels went to farms, hospitals, disabled veterans’ homes and bereaved families across the country.

“This is the second time we’ve been able to send solar panels to Ukraine, and it means a great deal to everyone at SolarSense. Last year our panels went to farms and hospitals keeping food production and medical care going. This time they’re powering a church that has opened its doors to people who’ve lost their homes, and it’s a privilege to support that work.

“Every year, working solar panels come off roofs as businesses upgrade older systems. We’d much rather see them generating power where it’s needed most than sitting in a recycling yard. As an employee-owned B Corp, giving back is something our whole team cares about. I’d encourage any business planning a solar upgrade to talk to us about where their old panels could go next.” – Russell Mees, Managing Director of SolarSense

 

The Ukraine donations are part of a much wider programme of charity work. SolarSense has supported charitable and community projects at home and overseas since it was founded in 1995.

• Rainforest Concern: for every square metre of rooftop solar SolarSense installs, it sponsors ten square metres of rainforest through its partnership with Rainforest Concern. The charity protects some of the world’s most threatened habitats, including forest in Ecuador lost to mining, roadbuilding and unsustainable farming.
• Madagascar: a SolarSense team helped Bristol Zoological Society power a research and conservation station protecting three endangered lemur species, and installed solar for the local village.
• The Brightwell: SolarSense partnered with the West of England MS Therapy Charity, which supports people living with MS, Parkinson’s, stroke and other long-term conditions.
• Paul’s Place: working with apetito, SolarSense repurposed solar panels for a South West charity supporting adults with physical, cognitive and sensory impairments.
• Senegal, Uganda and India: donated solar systems have powered hospitals, clinics and orphanages in remote communities.

As a Certified B Corp and employee-owned business, SolarSense sees this work as part of its mission: a world where all energy comes from renewable sources, for the benefit of people as well as the planet. Find out more about SolarSense’s corporate social responsibility.

 

Upgrading an older solar system?

If your business is replacing an ageing solar PV system, your old panels could have a second life powering a charity or community in need. SolarSense can design and install your new system and help find a good home for the panels coming off your roof.