Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, quoting Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, reported on Jan. 20 that the Ukrainian government has approved an order to organize construction of the two new reactors.

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The estimated completion date for the construction and start-up of the reactors is 2030-2032, although the timing may be affected by the course of military operations. The cost of each reactor is to be about $5 billion.

“The construction of AP1000 reactors by the U.S. company Westinghouse in Ukraine is a (significant) point in the end of cooperation with Russia in the field of nuclear energy,” Halushchenko said.

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“The Cabinet of Ministers made a decision that we begin the development of technical documentation for a new type of reactor that has never been built in Ukraine. That is, we have ended the era of creating nuclear power generation using Soviet technology.”

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The Westinghouse AP1000 reactor is a third-plus generation reactor that has significant advantages compared to the Soviet VVER-1000 Ukraine operates (13 such reactors are operating in Ukraine today), especially in terms of safety, technical, and economic indicators.

A contract between Ukraine’s nuclear power company Energoatom and the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Company to develop an updated feasibility study for the construction of two AP1000 reactors at the Khmelnytskyi NPP was signed in July 2022.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine