Ukrainian energy minister calls for developing nuclear power generation industry

MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - Ukraine should develop its nuclear power generation industry, and the public's negative attitudes toward this process is disturbing, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

"I'm just asking you to hear me. We won't have electricity without nuclear generation. I just don't understand these attitudes toward nuclear energy projects. If we can build KhNPP-3 and KhNPP-4 [new units at the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant], this means an additional 2.2 GW for the system. And we'll be doing that. We'll be doing that in parallel to developing solar, wind, and all other types of alternative generation," Ukrainian media quoted Galushchenko as saying at a government Q&A parliamentary session on Friday.

Given Ukraine's geographical location, solar power generation in winter is "close to zero," he said.

"Therefore, it should be understood that the Sun won't help us too much to sustain our energy system. Thank God, we have nuclear power generation, and we'll be developing it," he said.

Galushchenko said earlier that, to compensate for a loss of power generating facilities due to the crisis, Ukraine planned to start building new units on the Khmelnitsky NPP grounds in 2024. The project tentatively requires two VVER-1000 Soviet-design reactors, for which Ukraine is negotiating with Bulgaria to buy the required equipment, and two AP1000 reactors of the U.S. company Westinghouse. Ukraine is expected to become the first country in Europe to build this type of nuclear reactors.

The Khmelnitsky NPP currently operates two VVER-1000 power units.