It will take years to restart all six ZNPP power units after de-occupation – Galushchenko
18 June 2024 00:52
It will take years to restart all six power units of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant after it returns to Ukrainian control.
This was stated by the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko at an online meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to him, the situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP has only been deteriorating over the three years of Russian occupation.
This concerns, first of all, the degradation of equipment, which will be a big problem. The second problem is that the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam raises the question of how we will provide water to the plant if we theoretically launch it. The third is that the fuel has reached the end of its service life,
– galushchenko said.
The minister noted that ZNPP is currently in such a state that it will be difficult to launch even one power unit from a technical point of view.
“It is very difficult to estimate how long it will take to put the plant into operation and operate six units. But, according to today’s estimates, it is not months. Unfortunately, it is years,” he added.
Earlier, Olena Pareniuk, a radiobiologist and senior researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Safety Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, explained why it may be impossible to resume ZNPP operation after de-occupation. According to her, in order to start generating electricity, it will be necessary to completely inspect all components and assemblies of the power units and make sure that the plant is completely safe.
As a reminder, the Russian army seized Zaporizhzhia NPP on the night of 4 March 2022, having previously shelled the nuclear facility. Russia has also occupied the city of Enerhodar, near which the nuclear power plant is located.
