Ukraine is preparing to resume the construction of the previously abandoned Chyhyryn plant in Cherkasy Oblast, state nuclear energy agency Energoatom reported on Aug. 27.
“The Energoatom team is actively working to find new construction sites. The most promising of them is Chyhyryn, near the town of Orbita in Cherkasy oblast,” said Energoatom.
According to Energoatom, the plant will be equipped with AP1000 reactors built by U.S. company Westinghouse.
The members of the Chyhyryn City Council voted to grant Energoatom permission to resume construction of the plant. “The first steps have been taken,” said Energoatom.
“Energoatom intends to revive Orbita. Successful implementation of these plans is undoubtedly a significant investment in the post-war recovery and support of the state's energy security,” said Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin.
“The introduction of innovative nuclear technologies will make Ukraine a leader in the field of nuclear energy with unique experience and its own technological solutions.”
The Chyhyryn station is an unfinished nuclear power plant located in Cherkasy Oblast, near the shore of the Kremenchuk reservoir, between the villages of Stetsivka and Vitove.
The Orbita settlement was being built for the plant's employees before the fall of the Soviet Union triggered the cancellation of the project.
Since 2022, Ukraine has been experiencing significant shortages of electricity due to constant Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and the occupation of one of four Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Throughout its occupation, the plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.
Energoatom's press service reported on April 15 that it has started building reactor units 5 and 6 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant using U.S. technology, which would help prevent power outages in case of Russian attacks.
If the new reactors are completed, the Khmelnytskyi plant, located in Ukraine's west, would then replace the Zaporizhzhia plant as the largest one in Europe.
Daria Svitlyk
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