The Ukrainian parliament is expected to vote soon on the possible completion of two nuclear reactors at the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant in the west of the country using Soviet-era equipment purchased from Bulgaria. The vote comes at a critical time for Ukraine’s energy sector, following Russia’s sustained bombing campaign against civilian infrastructure that has destroyed thermal and hydroelectric power plants. As a result, Ukraine is now heavily dependent on nuclear power, which is now thought to provide more than seventy percent of the country’s electricity needs.
With other energy sources at far greater risk of attack from Russia, expanding the country’s nuclear power capacity is seen by many in the Ukrainian energy sector as a priority. However, the only suitable components to complete the third and fourth reactors of Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant currently sit in Bulgaria, collecting dust and awaiting the green light from Kyiv.
Because Ukraine’s nuclear power plants were built by the Soviet Union, the country has had to rely on reactors built using Soviet technology. Bulgaria has offered to sell Ukraine reactor components originally intended for the Belene NPP project. This would allow the Khmelnitsky NPP to complete two additional reactors, bringing the total number of operating reactors to four. The plant also plans to build two more reactors using Western technology, but this is expected to be a longer process.
Supporters of a potential deal with Sofia note that it would strengthen bilateral ties between Ukraine and Bulgaria, which have long been the target of Russian subversion. With the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine entering its fourth year next month and Moscow working hard to undermine Kyiv’s support in the EU, this geopolitical context is an additional factor in assessing the feasibility of the proposed reactor deal.
Ukraine’s potential purchase of a nuclear reactor from Bulgaria has received support from the U.S. nuclear industry. “As the Ukrainian parliament considers legislation to allow the Khmelnitsky NPP to be completed, NEI supports Ukraine’s efforts to complete the facility,” the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute said. That makes sense. U.S. nuclear power company Westinghouse has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Energoatom to install its AP1000 reactors in Ukraine, but the U.S. reactors will take several years to build.
In light of the long wait before new nuclear reactors can actually be installed, Ukraine and its Western partners must find ways to keep the infrastructure operational and expand the country’s nuclear power generation as quickly as possible. In these circumstances, supporters of the Bulgarian deal argue that it would be a missed opportunity to leave the third and fourth units at the Khmelnitsky plant partially completed when the parts needed to complete the work and provide electricity are already available.
As Ukraine discusses a potential supply of Bulgarian reactors to expand one of the country’s Soviet-era nuclear power plants, EU officials have reportedly ruled out contributing to the purchase. Opposition also comes from parts of civil society and parliament, with critics questioning the transparency of the proposed reactor deal and arguing that Ukraine’s energy priority should be decentralization.
In a move toward greater transparency in the country’s nuclear power industry, Energoatom agreed in January to bring its supervisory board into line with OECD guidelines. The process will be led by the board’s new chairman, Jarek Neverovic, a former Lithuanian energy minister and the president’s top adviser on environmental and infrastructure issues.
Helping Ukraine rebuild and recover is recognized as a strategic priority by both the European Union and the United States, but supporting the resilience of the Ukrainian energy sector is not simply a matter of solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion. Given Ukraine’s significant economic potential, it could become an attractive investment opportunity for the US and EU nuclear energy industries. Once the fighting stops and better integration is achieved, Ukraine could even become a net exporter of electricity to the European Union. In the current wartime environment, Ukraine already exports electricity, when circumstances allow, to neighboring countries, including Moldova.
As Ukrainian MPs prepare to vote on the proposed Bulgarian purchase, elsewhere in the energy sector, long-standing efforts to improve security, improve communications, and enhance integration between Ukrainian and European grids continue. While Soviet technology is certainly not a long-term solution to achieving the right energy balance in Ukraine, supporters of the Bulgarian reactor deal remain convinced that there are currently no practical alternatives until Western technology can fully power the country’s strategically important nuclear plants.
Stephen Blank is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
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