Ukraine's Energoatom, U.S. Westinghouse Electric sign $30 bln memorandum to build Khmelnytskyi NPP units
KYIV. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Ukraine's National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (NNEGC) Energoatom and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation of the United States have signed a memorandum on the joint construction of power units of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"I commend the signing of a memorandum between NNEGC Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric on the joint construction of the Khmelnytskyi NPP power unit as a pilot project and four more units under their technology in the future. The total cost of the project is up to $30 billion," Zelensky said on Twitter .
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation has existed since 1886 and has designed power units for nuclear power plants since the early 21st century. The corporation also controls up to 50% of global commercial power units and 31% of the market for nuclear power supplies.
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation has been active on the Ukrainian market as a service provider in upgrades of the safety systems of the Ukrainian reactor fleet and a fuel supplier for nuclear power plants since 1992.
The Khmelnytskyi NPP, comprised of two WWER-1000 power units with a total capacity of 2,000 MW, is located in Netishyn, Khmelnytskyi region.
NNEGC Energoatom operates all four active NPPs in Ukraine utilizing 15 power units equipped with pressurized water reactors with a rated output power of 13,835 MW.
Energoatom and Westinghouse have cooperated in nuclear fuel supplies since 2000. In 2014, former Energoatom CEO Yuriy Nedashkovsky said that Ukraine was considering the possible construction of a fourth power unit based on a Western design - Westinghouse, Areva, KEPCO - at the Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant.
It was reported in June 2021 that NNEGC Energoatom Director Petro Kotyn and Westinghouse Electric Corporation Vice President for Commercial Operations Elias Gedeon discussed cooperation on the construction of new power units for NPPs in Ukraine using AP1000 reactors.
According to NNEGC Energoatom, the use of AP1000 technology, a third-generation double-loop reactor with a capacity of about 1,100 MW, whose design has fewer components, while standardization and licensing enable reducing the terms and cost of construction, will give the company the opportunity in the long term to ensure a high level of safety, reliable generation of nuclear power, and a careful attitude toward the environment.