The 124 MW wind power project in the Odesa region that gained the backing of Horizon Capital last week suffered permitting withdrawals, logistics challenges and an investor withdrawal, before finding its latest investor, the project's CEO said.
Notus Energy CEO Heiner Dietmar Roger said his company has been working on the Odesa project since 2018, when it bought it from a French developer who was leaving Ukraine.
After the purchase, "we were faced with (the fact that) some law had changed in Ukraine – the Odesa airport said it's not possible to install the entire project with 21 turbines," Roger told an audience at Ukraine House Davos after signing the deal with Horizon Capital on Jan 20. "So there remained just nine turbines that we could proceed on."
Trouble with Ukrainian Railways
After the outbreak of fighting in the full-scale invasion, Notus Energy found a new area where it could install all 21 planned turbines and started the entire project over again.
"We had to move the already existing building permit for the substation," he said. "Then we wanted to start a half year before the war starts, with an American-English investor. One day before we started turbine manufacturing, they retired from the project, because of some trouble with the Ukrainian Railways."
"So we crossed all these problems and and then came the moment when we are ready, with all permissions or paperwork, so we needed some some finance," he said, addressing representatives from Horizon Capital in the room. "There were some other investors on the table, but you were the quickest and and smartest and nicest."
Event Metadata
Title:
Energy Recovery and European Integration: From Emergency Response to Investability
Event:
Ukraine House Davos 2026 – Day 2, Panel 1
Date:
January 2026
Location:
Davos, Switzerland
Format:
In-person panel discussion
Organiser:
Ukraine House Davos
Moderator:
Lenna Koszarny — Founding Partner and CEO, Horizon Capital
Key Speakers:
Oleksiy Sobolev — Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
Artur Lorkowski — Director, Energy Community Secretariat
Makhtar Diop — Managing Director, International Finance Corporation
Matteo Patrone — Vice President, Banking, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Heiner Röger — CEO and Owner, NOTUS energy
Thierry Déau — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Meridiam
