A loan borrowed by NJSC Energoatom from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will let the company fully implement a comprehensive program for enhancing safety at Ukraine's nuclear power plants (NPPs).
This position is disclosed in a statement issued by Energoatom on Friday in response to a rally held on December 7, 2012, by activists of international and Ukrainian environmental organizations who oppose the EBRD’s funding and the extension of the NPPs’ operating life.
Energoatom stresses that a final decision on the extension is to be taken by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate after all the planned measures to raise their safety have been implemented.
The extension of nuclear reactors’ service life is common international practice, the statement quotes Vice-President of the Ukrainian Nuclear Society, Professor Serhiy Barbashov, as saying.
“Most countries with nuclear energy use the practice of extending an NPP’s operating life. This allows the saving of lots of funds and time, compared to the construction of new reactors, and preserves the existing energy facilities,” he said.
According to him, the possibility of extending the operating life of a nuclear power plant is determined on the basis of ensuring its safe operation. A number of obligatory measures are taken to ensure a high level of safety of the equipment, and the systems that are responsible for safety.
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Scandinavia, and Russia have experience of extending nuclear reactors’ service life by 20-30 years. In particular, there are about 20 reactors with extended service life in the United States alone.
Energoatom said the nuclear power industry is a key branch of Ukraine’s economy. For a long period of time, Energoatom has produced up to 50% of all the electricity generated in the country; therefore the stable operation of the nuclear reactors is an important condition for the development of the Ukrainian economy.
Barbashov in particular said that nuclear energy in Ukraine is a key source of clean and low-priced electricity, which is the basis of the state’s economy and its energy security.
“In the critical period for Ukraine today, the extension of the nuclear reactors’ operating life is the only way of preserving the efficiency of the country’s production facilities and providing light and heat to households,” he said.
“After the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Ukraine has undertaken additional commitments to enhance safety at its nuclear power plants. These commitments certainly concern the first nuclear reactor of the Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP as well. Preliminary understanding has been reached with the EBRD on lending EUR 300 million to Energoatom to upgrade safety systems at the operating nuclear reactors. Thus, the EBRD’s loan, which is being opposed by representatives of certain environmental organizations, is one of the most important conditions for raising the level of safety at Ukrainian NPPs,” Energoatom said.
As reported, the design service life of the first nuclear reactor of Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP expires on December 31, 2012. Under the concept for enhancing safety at the operating nuclear reactors at Ukrainian NPPs, a number of measures, including replacement and upgrading of equipment were implemented at the Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP’s first reactor from 2006 to 2012. Due to the measures, the indicators of the reactor’s safety today meet all the requirements applied to the operating nuclear reactors in Ukraine.
During public hearings held on November 16 to 21, 2012, residents of the towns that are included in the Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP’s 30-kilometer monitoring zone in general support Energoatom’s activity to extend the service life of the Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP’s first reactor, on the condition that the proper level safety is maintained at the plant.
