Cody company seeks a slice of Ukraine energy sector

POWELL — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the loss of more than four million chickens and Europe’s largest egg production facility in southern Ukraine, as well as up to 6.9 million acres of cropland, according to NASA Harvest. 

Now, in an effort to get agricultural production back up and running, a Park County company founded by a Cody entrepreneur, and backed by a prominent American politician and two Ukrainian entrepreneurs, wants to assist in bringing agricultural businesses back online. 

To do that they need energy. 

The disruption in Ukraine’s energy sector since Russia’s invasion in 2022 caused an urgent need for additional electricity supply and a more decentralized power generation system. 

Prior to the invasion, Ukraine had approximately 55 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity, but it is estimated that more than half of this has been destroyed or is currently under occupation. 

As a result, the remaining capacity is insufficient to meet the country’s energy demands, including many farming pursuits in Europe’s “bread basket.” 

Bighorn Basin Energy Development Company, which is already backed by $50 million in investments, has a goal of creating as much as a gigawatt of generated electricity in Ukraine by using small, mobile generators, as well as solar and other renewable energy-producing methods. 

It may seem premature with attacks increasing recently, but the board of directors of the new company believe the war will end quickly after President-elect Donald J. Trump is inaugurated. 

The prospects of the war ending and the pummeled infrastructure being restored are greater due to the election of Trump, said Bighorn Basin Energy Development Company board member and former U.S Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. 

“I’m convinced that in the beginning of January of next year, when President Trump is president of the United States again, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin will once again understand the risks associated with coming after America’s friend and ally, and we will have an opportunity to restore the deterrence that was lost back in February of 2022,” Pompeo said. 

He also believes if Trump would have won the 2020 election, there never would have been an invasion. 

“It was only when President Trump and I left office and President [Joe] Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris took charge that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] no longer saw America as a world leader — no longer saw a powerful nation that was prepared to partner with friends and allies,” Pompeo said in an interview with the Tribune earlier this month. “So, he [Putin] thought it was in his best interest to invade and take parts of Europe.” 

Pompeo joined Cody entrepreneur and founder of the company Nick Piazza, along with an important Ukrainian agricultural investor and Ukraine’s former minister of Development, Trade and Agriculture, in developing the for-profit company. 

The company is seeking to install more than 100 heat and power cogeneration units — combined with solar power plants with a total capacity of nearly 1-gigawatt — across various regions in Ukraine. 

Bighorn Basin Energy Development Company is listed as a U.S. private equity fund based in Cody with a focus on investing in energy projects within the war-torn country. 

The fund’s mission is to help Ukraine unlock its energy potential while generating a lasting, positive impact in the region, according to its website. 

Destroyed in the war

If you don’t have electricity, you can’t grow food and raise livestock on an industrial scale, Piazza said. 

The operation was immensely important to the region’s economy, employing 17,000 employees prior to Russia’s attack in southern Ukraine. Agricultural products are Ukraine’s most important exports. 

In 2021 — prior to Russia’s attack — ag exports totaled $27.8 billion, accounting for 41% of the country’s $68 billion in overall exports. 

After losing tens of thousands of acres of cropland and the egg production facility at the Chornobaivske chicken farm, the largest in Europe, board member Oleg Bakhmatiuk also lost his title as the largest agricultural land owner in Ukraine. 

But he’s not about to give up. 

Setting aside the feelings of loss and anger he’s sustained due to the war, Bakhmatiuk is excited to help produce electricity to assist the war-torn country get back on track economically. 

“War is the number one concern, but the second most critical concern is energy security. So we can basically exploit those synergies by addressing those needs simultaneously,” Bakhmatiuk said. “When the war ends, our conversations will become easier with potential players.” 

The new company’s initiative aims to attract investment, including support from U.S. government financial institutions, with a goal to significantly expand manufacturing capacity over the next three years. 

Distribution of the energy-producing plants across multiple regions in Ukraine will help reduce the risk of localized disruptions and improve grid distribution logistics. 

The generated electricity will be sold at market prices through the Ukrainian Energy Exchange. 

The company officially opened in August, but Piazza has been working on perfecting the idea for about 18 months. 

Currently the company has installed 3.5 megawatt (MW) of solar, and 4 MW of combined heat and power capacity are operational, with plans to add 67 MW of capacity by the end of 2024 and 49 MW of solar by mid-2025. 

With a focus on economic policy, trade and business development, former Ukraine Minister of Development, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko said the team in Ukraine is already on its way, with Piazza and Pompeo being financial and political heavyweights. 

“We have the team to get it done,” he said. “I think this provides great synergy, because we have where to build, we know how to build, we are integrated in Ukraine, we are big producers. This is our strength. And Nick and Secretary Pompeo, they are the icing on the cake in terms of strengthening further.” 

Maybe the idea of Ukraine coming out of the invasion stronger than it was pre-war is in part getting revenge through success, Petrashko intimated. 

“There will be bad blood for generations,” he said. “You can’t put a monetary value on it. People’s lives and livelihoods have been destroyed. How can you monetize it? How can you redeem this?” 

The idea is to move as fast as possible, recover quickly and not concentrate on the animosity that may exist for decades — at least for now. 

“If you get stuck over animosity, basically, it will slow you down,” he said. 

A heart for Ukraine

Piazza has made much of his money in Ukraine and, beyond business, has an emotional tie to his second home. He met his wife Yulia while working in Ukraine and they have two children, Misha, 10, and Mia, 5. 

“I have lived in Kyiv longer than any other city in my life. Being there for almost [20 years during Ukraine’s] independence, I always felt like we grew up together,” he wrote recently in an impassioned post on social media. “From being a tough place to find a burger or use a credit card to having some of the best restaurants and nightlife in the world — she [Ukraine] changed so much. My forced exile due to COVID for most of 2020 only served as a reminder of how much our relationship means to me.” 

At the time, Piazza was funding Americans willing to join the fight against Russia. The Piazzas have many family members, friends and employees still in the embattled region he’s actively trying to help. 

He isn’t afraid of being targeted for joining the fight. 

“Sitting in silence because you’re afraid is cowardly. I don’t do that kind of thing,” he said at the time. 

Now, Piazza wants to give back in other ways, including investing in the new business. 

“Ukraine has always been close to my heart,” Piazza said. “I made all my money there, so Yulia and I have the position that we need to help out there. And this just looked like a great project where we brought a lot of kind of strong players to the table, and we could get going really fast.” 

Yet what really excites him about the project is the team has a lot of experience building large industrial projects that have been successful, and one of his goals is to bring the two countries together in the effort. 

He has already been talking to Wyoming companies he feels can assist in making the 1 gigawatt dream a reality. 

“We’re super excited about where this is going, and I’m really excited to help tie in America and Ukraine. It’s been something we’ve been working on a while, and I think this is the business project that kind of brings those two sides together,” he said. “This is all coming together in Cody, and I think it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun.”