Energoatom, Westinghouse sign contract to buy AP1000 reactor for Khmelnytskyi NPP
This ceremony took place with the participation of Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"The contract for the purchase of the first AP1000 reactor unit, which has already been manufactured, was signed today. It is now in the United States. This is very important and I am very grateful to our partners. It is a truly historic event and it is truly modern technology. And we plan soon to start construction work on the 5th and 6th units after the adoption of the relevant legislation [on the construction of these power units]," Galushchenko said.
Kotin said that Energoatom, for its part, was taking all possible steps to provide the necessary documentation for the adoption of this law.
Galushchenko said that the AP1000 technology was safe even in the event of an emergency, such as an accident, etc.
He stressed that there were currently no such large reactors in the post-Soviet space and in other European countries that currently use nuclear energy. However, according to him, Westinghouse previously signed agreements on the construction of these units with several other countries, including Poland and Bulgaria.
"But this is the technical side of the matter. The political side of the matter is our movement away from the Russian Federation. And Ukraine today shows leadership for many European countries in how to do so. In fact, there is a certain trend towards the complete replacement of Russian technologies in Europe. This is very important, and Ukraine is an important participant in this process," Galushchenko said.
Fragman said that such reactors were already operating in the United States and China and added that the construction of AP1000 power units in particular was very promising.
Under the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the memoranda concluded between Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric Company, it is planned to build nine power units using AR1000 technology in Ukraine.
The first two of them will be built at the Khmelnytskyi NPP (power units Nos. 5 and 6).
