PHOTOS
17.12.2023 17:58
Petro Kotin, president of Ukraine’s National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, and Patrick Fragman, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse Electric Company, have signed in Kyiv a contract for the purchase of equipment for power unit No. 5 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, which will be built according to the Westinghouse AP1000 technology.
This ceremony took place with the participation of Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“The contract for the purchase of the first AP1000 reactor unit, which has already been manufactured, was signed today. It is now in the United States. This is very important and I am very grateful to our partners. It is a truly historic event and it is truly modern technology. And we plan soon to start construction work on the 5th and 6th units after the adoption of the relevant legislation [on the construction of these power units],” Galushchenko said.
Kotin said that Energoatom, for its part, was taking all possible steps to provide the necessary documentation for the adoption of this law.
Galushchenko said that the AP1000 technology was safe even in the event of an emergency, such as an accident, etc.
He stressed that there were currently no such large reactors in the post-Soviet space and in other European countries that currently use nuclear energy. However, according to him, Westinghouse previously signed agreements on the construction of these units with several other countries, including Poland and Bulgaria.
“But this is the technical side of the matter. The political side of the matter is our movement away from the Russian Federation. And Ukraine today shows leadership for many European countries in how to do so. In fact, there is a certain trend towards the complete replacement of Russian technologies in Europe. This is very important, and Ukraine is an important participant in this process,” Galushchenko said.
Fragman said that such reactors were already operating in the United States and China and added that the construction of AP1000 power units in particular was very promising.
Under the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the memoranda concluded between Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric Company, it is planned to build nine power units using AR1000 technology in Ukraine.
The first two of them will be built at the Khmelnytskyi NPP (power units Nos. 5 and 6).
(C)UKRINFORM 2023
Great news! But, just wait to see what’ll happen to Ukraine’s economy when this war is over!
Indeed, with an inportant step towards EU membership being done, the after war future looks promising, Mr. Ofp. However, I don’t think nuclear energy is the way to go. A big country like Ukraine has lots of space for wind energy. And also, with an aggressive neighbor, reactors aren’t a great idea. This war has already shown that.
I see your point, Mr. Someone. This might not be up to the times, but it’s a clear indication that investments in Ukraine are worth it.
I’m quite sure there’ll be a boom in wind energy after the war. After all, decentralized power generation will strengthen the network against attacks and weather disruptions, too. More power sources, more redundancies. And with modern technology, there’ll be good profits, too. Actually, I think investors should already start projects in western Ukraine now. Demand will be high and early adoptors will get the best locations.
Because you’ve mentioned this topic, Mr. Gray, I remember having read somewhere before that Ukraine is striving to increase its share of green energy. It does have a large territory with a relatively small population, measured on Europe’s average population density, and it has a huge agricultural industry, both facets that could help it to move quickly in this direction. Sir Scradge also mentioned once about Ukraine’s white hydrogen reserves in Ukraine. This could also be of great help to transition away from fossil and atomic fueled energy.
Right, Mr. Ofp, Ukraine is an excellent location for green energy transition. Because it can combine wind power with huge resources in hydro energy. So, on calm days, power stations at dams can make up the difference. This means, there’s no real need for nuclear reactors in the future. I do understand that to get away from Russian rechnology and to switch to Westinghouse instead is a huge prestige project for Energoatom, though. Not the best possible use for that money, but it’s obvious that a corporation with “atom” in its name is more reluctant to switch to green energy.