russia’s military aggression against Ukraine is perhaps the most important reason for accelerating the development of atomic energy. The world’s leading economies are interested in the energy independence of democratic countries. Nuclear power is also crucial in terms of fight against climate change and decarbonization of the economy.
Nuclear power plants are an effective source of reliable and uninterrupted energy. Unlike coal or natural gas, nuclear power plants do not directly emit carbon dioxide when they generate electricity, and they have reduced CO2 emissions by nearly 60 gigatonnes over the past 50 years. Unlike solar or wind, nuclear power plants operate without interruption and require much less land area per megawatt produced. Unlike hydropower, which has reached its natural limits in many developed countries, including the US, nuclear power plants do not require environmentally intensive dams. That is why more and more countries are resuming the operation of some nuclear power plants, and are building new plans to increase the share of nuclear energy in the overall structure of energy production. For example, the European Parliament recently recognized nuclear energy and natural gas as “green” energy sources, i.e., those that help humanity avoid climate catastrophe and support economic growth. This indicates a change of course and further growth of investments in this industry.
Ukraine has a great investment potential in nuclear energy. There are 15 nuclear reactors operating in Ukraine, which account for about half of the electricity production. However, seven of these reactors stopped operational activity due to russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. In recent years, many steps have been taken to develop and build nuclear power plants, and replace nuclear fuel from russia. For example, Westinghouse Electric Company announced a new contract with Energoatom, Ukraine’s national nuclear power company. According to the agreement, Westinghouse will provide technical information in support of Energoatom’s feasibility study update for the construction of two AP1000 reactors at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine.
The effort advances the previously signed agreement between Westinghouse and Energoatom to construct AP1000 plants at Khmelnystskyi NPP units 5 and 6, commence the licensing process and further develop Ukraine’s clean energy initiatives. Westinghouse emphasizes that they stand ready to provide AP1000 plant technology and equipment in Ukraine. All these joint significant steps are valuable for Ukraine’s energy independence. In June 2022, Westinghouse and Energoatom expanded agreements for Westinghouse to supply all nuclear fuel for the Energoatom operating park in Ukraine and to build nine AP1000 plants across the country.
The AP1000 plant is a reliable Gen III+ reactor featuring unique fully passive safety systems, modularized standard design, and industry-leading operability performance and load following capability. The design and build of the AP1000 plants will leverage significant US-Ukraine industrial cooperation, featuring content from supply chains in both countries.
Synchronization with ENTSO-E opened up an opportunity to show the potential of the Ukrainian energy system, and first of all, nuclear energy. Ukraine is ready to increase energy exports to Europe to accelerate the replacement of Russian fossil energy resources.
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