Ukrainian nuclear energy specialists to visit Belarusian nuclear station

MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) – A delegation of the Rovno nuclear power plant, which is a standalone division of the Ukrainian national electrical company Energoatom, is expected to visit the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate and the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in late April 2013, BelTA learned from the information center of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The Ukrainian delegation’s visit is expected to enhance good neighborly relations, establish working contacts and cooperation at the level of the information centers of the Rovno nuclear power plant and the Belarusian one.

The Rovno nuclear power plant was once Ukraine’s first nuclear station with water-cooled and water-moderated reactors. At present it is the only type of reactors used in the country. Similar reactors, only up-to-date ones, will be installed at the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The power-generating units of the Rovno station meet modern international requirements for nuclear and radiation safety as testified by examinations carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1988, 1996, 2003, and 2005 and examinations carried out by the World Association of Nuclear Operators in 2011 and 2004.

The professional training and high qualifications of the personnel of the Rovno station are secured by the proprietary training center that boasts full-scale simulators of power-generating units using VVER 440 and VVER 1000 reactors.

The Rovno nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1980. The installed capacity is 2,835MW, it is the country’s third largest figure. The power plant generates over 17 billion kWh of electricity every year or as much as 19.4% of the output of nuclear stations or 9% of the country’s total electricity generation.

Ukraine also operates the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with the installed capacity of 6,000MW, the South Ukrainian nuclear station (3,000MW), and the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant (2,000MW). There are 15 power-generating units used at Ukrainian nuclear power plants and the construction of two more units is nearly finished. The nuclear power plants generate over half of Ukraine’s electricity. They are run by the national nuclear energy-generating company Energoatom.