What future for nuclear power in Ukraine?

17.00 Brussels/ Berlin = 18.00 Kyiv

The recent announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to complete the construction of two additional reactor blocks at Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has attracted new attention to the perspectives of the nuclear sector in Ukraine. Currently, 15 operational nuclear units at the four NPP in Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Zaporizhzhia and South-Ukraine cover approximately half of Ukraine’s electricity demand. Except for three of the units, all have exceeded their initially projected lifetimes. Extensions for 10 - 20 years were granted and related ongoing safety upgrades are partly funded by the EU in the framework of Euratom and EBRD programs. The development of the sector is usually not much discussed at the political level neither within the country nor with regard to the relations with the European Union, though the possible consequences of the course of development in the sector are substantial.

A first set of questions relates to safety issues - both to the improper implementation of the safety upgrades in the old units and to the feasibility of constructing new units relying on 30-year old technical project documentation and infrastructure. Second, looking to global trends of nuclear power developments, the business case of an investment into new nuclear blocks compared to renewable electricity generation seems at least questionable. Multiple risks can become a burden heavy to carry for the Ukrainian economy. Already now, the earnings of nuclear electricity generation are not at all sufficient to contribute to the Decommissioning Fund of the state owned enterprise “Energoatom” that operates the NPP. This situation is also linked to a number of electricity market distortions that for political reasons do not allow for real market participation of “Energoatom”. Finally yet importantly, there seems to be no seriously elaborated strategy for the role of nuclear power in a decarbonized economy based on renewables that will need flexible balancing but not baseload generation.  

The third EU-Ukrainian Roundtable on Energy transition will provide background on these topics and discuss the possible implications for Ukraine’s energy relations with the European Union in the context of the implementation of the European Green Deal.

Speakers:
Massimo Garribba, Deputy Director General at Directorate-General for ENERGY, European Commission, Brussels
Antony Froggatt, Senior research fellow at Chatham House, co-author of The World Nuclear Industry Status Reports, London
Nataliia Rybalka, Deputy Director of Directorate of Development of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Industry, Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, Kyiv
Oleksandra Zaika, Energy policy expert, NGO “Ecoaction”, Kyiv

Welcome: Robert Sperfeld, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Berlin

Moderation: Oksana Aliieva, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Kyiv

Further Readings:

Article "Ukraine's nuclear impasse", 12.10.2020, By Oleksandra Zaika

Fact Sheet "Ukraine and EU: Towards a Decarbonisation Partnership", 2019, Heinrich Böll Stiftung
Current analysis and articles on energy transition in Ukraine on ua.boell.org

Contact:
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Robert Sperfeld, sperfeld@boell.de

---

Please be advised that online events will be held using the software provided by Zoom. Depending on the type of event (that is, with or without audience participation), you may require a camera and/or a microphone in order to be able to take part.

You may either use the software client or the app. The internet browsers Chrome and Edge will enable you to participate simply via an access link. Further information on how to use Zoom is available here. Please make sure that you are using the latest version of Zoom so that you have the necessary settings.

The access information will be sent to you via e-mail 24 h prior to the event and, again, 2 h prior to the event.

All events are subject to our privacy policy. The Heinrich Böll Foundation is not liable for issues arising from the use of Zoom software. The current Zoom privacy policy is available here.