Khmelnytskyi NPP in western Ukraine to become largest in Europe when completed

Four reactors are planned to be built at the Khmelnytskyi NPP, taking the total capacity to over 6,000 MW

Andrii Vodianyi

Senior editor

January 12, 09:33

Photo: KhNPP / Facebook

The Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, after the completion of works on four reactors, will become the largest in Europe, said acting chairman of the board of Energoatom Petro Kotin.

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"KhNPP will become the flagship of nuclear energy in Europe and will eventually have six power units and in terms of design capacity will surpass Zaporizhzhya NPP, the largest on the continent, currently occupied by the Russian military," he wrote in a column for Economic Pravda.

The state NPP operator Energoatom expects that the construction of new units at KhNPP will create up to 9,000 additional jobs.

Khmelnytskyi NPP is located in the west of Ukraine on the border of three oblasts: Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Ternopil. Its construction began in 1981, and now it has two reactors. The first was launched in 1987, the second in 2004. Both power units have reactors of the VVER-1000 type, with a total capacity of 2,000 MW. According to the project, the station was supposed to be four-block.

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Now, Energoatom plans to build two more VVER-1000 power units and two more powerful AP1000 power units at the KhNPP, which will be able to produce up to 1,200 MW.

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If these plans are implemented, the total capacity of the Khmelnytskyi NPP will exceed 6,000 MW.

On December 17, Energoatom and Westinghouse signed an agreement on the purchase of the first AP1000 reactor.

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On November 22, 2021, Energoatom and Westinghouse signed two cooperation agreements for the purpose of implementing a pilot project for the construction of AP1000 power units at the site of the Khmelnytskyi NPP. On January 20, 2023, the government by its order approved the proposals of the Ministry of Energy to develop a feasibility study for the construction of a nuclear installation using the technical characteristics of an AP1000 reactor.

In general, in accordance with the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the memorandums concluded between Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric Company, it is planned to build nine power units using the AP1000 technology in Ukraine. The first two of them will be built on the site of the Khmelnytskyi NPP, and another one at the Rivne NPP. An option with the construction of a new Chyhyryn NPP is also being considered.