Ukraine to build nuclear fuel plant
In the second half of 2019, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry intends to initiate a tender for the construction of a nuclear fuel plant in the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in the Mykolaiv province, Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk told reporters.
“Within half a year we will announce a tender for the construction of a plant. We will build the plant as part of the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant,” he said.
Nasalyk explained that the plant will be located in Yuzhnoukrainsk because the fuel assembly shanks necessary for nuclear fuel production are produced there.
Construction of the plant will require a $120-130 million investment, and if the plant is to produce fuel tablets, the required investment could go up to $400 million.
Nasalyk noted that the US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has confirmed the nuclear fuel production technology, and is willing to assist the project financially.
6.8 hectares outside the town of Smolena (Kirovohrad province) have been allocated for the construction of the plant. Initially there were plans for the Russian TVEL Fuel Company to handle the construction, but the decision was revised in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In October 2015, then Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn announced that the contract with TVEL was being abandoned due to the Russian company’s failure to fulfill its obligations.
In December 2016, the new minister Ihor Nasalyk announced that Ukraine was once again planning to build a plant to produce the fuel assemblies for nuclear power stations.