Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom plans to complete the Chigirinsky NPP in the Cherkasy region, the construction of which was frozen in 1989 in the wake of the Chernobyl accident.

“The Energoatom team is actively working on the search for new construction sites,” Energoatom said in a statement. The most promising is the Chigirin NPP near the town of Orbita in Cherkasy Oblast. There are plans to build four new power units there using [Westinghouse] AP1000 technology.” Construction is planned for the period up to 2050.

Energoatom said members of Chigirin City Council decided at its 51st extraordinary meeting:

  • to grant permission to develop the land management project and provide land plots for permanent use by Energoatom;
  • to transfer land plots with a total area of 38,1493 hectares to Energoatom for permanent use.

“Energoatom intends to regenerate Orbita, transforming it into a modern town like Netishyn, Yuzhnoukrainsk or Varash. The successful implementation of these plans is undoubtedly a significant investment in post-war rebuilding and support for the energy security of the state,” Energoatom President Petro Kotin said. “The application of innovative nuclear technologies will make Ukraine a leader in the nuclear energy sector with unique experience and its own technological solutions.”

The decision to build a nuclear power plant in the Cherkasy region was made by the USSR in 1970. According to the master plan, it was to be near the village of Vitovo, Chigirinsky district, Cherkasy region. The initial design capacity was 4800 MWe. Together with the station, the plan work was started in 1977, but in 1989 the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to discontinue construction.

In May, Energoatom said it had begun preparatory work for the construction of two new power units using AP1000 technology at the South Ukrainian NPP. In April, the Ministry of Energy had announced the start of similar work at the Khmelnitsky NPP, where the construction of two new power units is also planned.

German Galushchenko told Politico that the government still intends to pursue the expansion of the Khmelnitsky by buying two VVER-1000 reactors currently in storage in Bulgaria following cancellation of the Belene project. Politico said the proposal has drawn criticism from the ruling party’s own MPs, who say there are quicker ways to help prop up the electricity grid, which has been hit hard by the ongoing conflict with Russia.

“Our energy system is withstanding this pressure first of all thanks to nuclear power,” Galushchenko said. “Taking that into account, we need more generation, even in the recovery and especially after the war. We understand that any kind of nuclear project takes years, so we need to start as quickly as we can, especially in this situation where we have the building constructed and ready.”

Earlier, Ukrainian MPs told Politico that the government had been forced to acknowledge it did not have sufficient support in the parliament to pass a draft law legislating for the purchase of the Bulgarian reactors. “MPs questioned whether the mothballed reactors, bought by Bulgaria more than a decade ago, would be able to be quickly brought into service, and whether the funds could be better spent on renewable power and other sources of electricity. The costs, they said, would likely balloon and open the door to corruption,” Politico noted.

However, Galushchenko is determined to pursue the project. “We are continuing work with the parliament to adopt this law because it is a very important project for us,” he said. “I am confident that the parliament will adopt the law.”

Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, including geothermal power plants and grid transformers, has come under sustained attack from Russia in recent months, requiring significant imports of electricity from the EU to meet the new shortfall.

“We are trying, of course, to repair every facility which is possible to repair, to add additional generation to the system,” said Galushchenko. However, he warned that Ukraine is now “really on the eve of probably the hardest winter in the history of the country.”