Ukraine extends operating license of South Ukraine NPP unit 2 until 2035
On December 25, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine approved a ten-year extension of the operating lifetime of Unit 2 at the South Ukraine NPP, allowing the unit to remain in service until December 2035. Energoatom reported the decision through its press service.
"This decision is an important part of Energoatom’s long-term strategy to maintain and expand Ukraine’s nuclear generation capacity," said Pavlo Kovtoniuk, acting chairman of Energoatom’s management board.
The licensing work was carried out without a prolonged shutdown of the unit, which made it possible to avoid reductions in electricity generation. In the past, such procedures typically required shutdowns lasting 200–250 days.
In November 2023, Unit 1 at the same plant also received a lifetime extension. For the first time, the procedure was conducted in line with international standards without a long-term outage.
The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant is located in the steppe zone on the left bank of the Pivdennyi Buh River, near the town of Pivdennoukrainsk in Mykolaiv Oblast. The plant is part of the Pivdennoukrainsk Energy Complex, which also includes the Oleksandrivska Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Tashlyk Pumped Storage Power Plant.
Construction of the facility began in 1975. The first of its three power units, each equipped with a VVER-1000 reactor, was commissioned in 1982. The plant’s total installed capacity is 3,000 MW.
Unit 2 was commissioned in 1985 with an original design lifetime of 30 years. In 2015, its operating life was extended by ten years.
- Under decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and memoranda signed between Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric Company, Ukraine plans to build nine new nuclear power units based on AP1000 technology.
- In addition, Energoatom intends to complete Units 3 and 4 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant using VVER-1000 reactor technology.
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