Nuclear power in Ukraine

Ukrainian coin commemorating nuclear power

Ukraine operates four nuclear power plants with 15 reactors.[1] In 2016 Ukraine's installed capacity of its nuclear reactors ranked seventh in the world.[1]

In 2014, nuclear power supplied 49.4% of Ukraine's electricity production of 168 billion kWh. The total installed capacity of nuclear reactors in Ukraine was over 13 GWe.[2]

Ukraine is one of Europe’s largest energy consumers, it consumes almost twice the energy of Germany, per unit of GDP.[3] A large share of energy supply in Ukraine comes from nuclear power. Energoatom, a Ukrainian state enterprise, operates all four active nuclear power stations in Ukraine.[4]

Overview

Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is Europe's largest with six reactors whose total capacity is 6 GW[1]

Ukraine used to receive its nuclear fuel exclusively from Russia. But since 2008 the country also gets nuclear fuel from Westinghouse.[5] Since 2014 Westinghouse's share of imports grew to more than 30% in 2016.[1] Oil and natural gas provide the remainder of the country's energy; these are also imported from the former Soviet Union. Ukraine is heavily dependent on its nuclear energy. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is located in Ukraine. In 2006, the government planned to build 11 new reactors by the year 2030, in effect, almost doubling the current amount of nuclear power capacity.[6] Ukraine's power sector is the twelfth-largest in the world in terms of installed capacity, with 54 gigawatts (GW).[3] Renewable energy still plays a very modest role in electrical output; in 2005 energy production was met by the following sources: nuclear (47 percent), thermal (45 percent), hydroelectric and other (8 percent).[6]


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Chornobyl AES

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster).[7] The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles, crippling the Soviet economy.[8]

In 2011 Energoatom began a project to bring safety into line with international standards at an estimated cost of $1.8 billion, with a target completion date of 2017. In 2015 the completion date was put back to 2020, due to financing delays.[9] In 2015 some government agencies made corruption allegations against Energoatom, with concerns raised by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.[10] In March 2016, Energoatom's assets and bank accounts were frozen by Ukrainian courts over allegedly unpaid debts; Energoatom is appealing the decision, but the frozen finances have led to contractual breeches.[11]

Uranium mining

In 2005 there were 17 deposits on the state balance account.[12] Three of them Vatutine, Central, and Michurinske were being developed, while at the Novokostiantyniv was being built an ore enrichment factory.[12] Number of deposits are exhausted (i.e. Devladove, Zhovtorichenske, Pershotravneve, Bratske).[13][12]

Reactors

Chyhyryn
Kharkiv
Odessa
Nuclear power plants in Ukraine (view)
 Active plants
 Closed plants
 Unfinished plants

All of Ukraine's RBMK reactors (the type involved in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster) were located at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. All of the reactors there have been shut down, leaving only the much safer VVER reactors operating in the country.[1] Three of the reactors listed were built in post-independence Ukraine, with the first one of these being constructed in 1995; the other sixteen reactors the country inherited from the Soviet Union.

Name Location Type Capacity, MWe Operational Notes
Chernobyl NPP Pripyat RBMK 1000 1977-1996
RBMK 1000 1978-1991
RBMK 1000 1981-2000
RBMK 1000 1984-1986 exploded in the Chernobyl accident
Khmelnytsky Netishyn VVER 1000 1987-
VVER 1000 2004-
Rivne Varash VVER 402 1980-
VVER 417 1981-
VVER 1000 1986-
VVER 1000 2004-
South Ukraine Yuzhnoukrainsk VVER 1000 1982-
VVER 1000 1985-
VVER 1000 1989-
Zaporizhzhia Enerhodar VVER 1000 1984- largest nuclear power plant of Europe
VVER 1000 1985-
VVER 1000 1986-
VVER 1000 1987-
VVER 1000 1989-
VVER 1000 1995-
Total Ukraine VVER 13819 1981 (1978)-

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nuclear fuel imports from Sweden account for 41.6% in H1, balance from Russia, UNIAN (22 August 2016)
  2. ↑ "PRIS - Country Details: Ukraine". Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  3. 1 2 "Ukraine". Energy Information Administration (EIA). US government. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  4. ↑ Energoatom chief Kim overstepped his powers when signing contract, failed to show up for questioning, says interior minister, Interfax-Ukraine (12 June 2013)
  5. ↑ "Westinghouse and Ukraine's Energoatom extend nuclear fuel contract". Retrieved 2014-04-23.
    Westinghouse CEO: We are ready to put our fuel in all of Ukraine’s NPP, UNIAN (28 October 2015)
  6. 1 2 "Nuclear Power in Ukraine". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  7. ↑ Black, Richard (2011-04-12). "''Fukushima: As Bad as Chernobyl?''". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  8. ↑ From interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, Hans Blix and Vassili Nesterenko. The Battle of Chernobyl. Discovery Channel. Relevant video locations: 31:00, 1:10:00.
  9. ↑ "Ukraine aims to complete safety upgrade program in 2020". World Nuclear News. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Energoatom chief recalls highs and lows of first half-year". World Nuclear News. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Continued Ukraine-Russia tensions over fuel". Nuclear Engineering International. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 About economic feasibility to attract investments in exploration and development of uranium deposits in Ukraine. Ukrainian geological projects.
  13. ↑ Sieroi, S. Uranium plus gold, is that a solution to crisis? "Den". 22 May 1998.

External links

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