Rovno unit 3 gets 20-year licence extension

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRC) has approved the extension by 20 years of the operating licence for unit 3 of the Rovno nuclear power plant. The approval, which was granted by SNRC's board on 16 July, means the unit can operate until 11 December 2037. The regulator approved 20-year licence extensions of Rovno 1 and 2 in December 2010.

The four-unit Rovno plant (Image: Energoatom)

Ukraine has 15 nuclear units in commercial operation at four sites - Khmelnitsky, Rovno, South Ukraine and Zaporozhe - which are all operated by state-owned Energoatom. The units comprise 13 VVER-1000s and two VVER-440s with a total capacity of 13,835 MWe.

Opening the SNRC board meeting, SNRCU Chairman Grigory Plachkov said the approval process for operating licence extensions follows the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035.

"I note that Ukraine has had a positive experience in this direction - the operations of Rovno 1 and 2, South Ukraine 1 and 2, and Zaporozhe 1, 2 and 3 have all been extended," he added.

Oleg Zelyoniy, head of department for nuclear facilities at the State Scientific Technical Centre on Nuclear and Radiation Safety, presented a report on nuclear and radiation safety from the periodic safety review of Rovno 3, which he said takes into account the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association. "The report did not raise factors that would stand in the way of operating Rovno 3 beyond the design period," he said.

Valery Bugay, deputy director of the nuclear safety department at SNRCU, reported on the results of two comprehensive inspections of the unit, which were recently conducted by an interdepartmental commission, as well as an analysis of the materials provided by Energoatom.

Pavel Pavlyshin, general director of Rovno nuclear power plant, outlined the measures that had been taken to extend the operating life of the unit and said all but one of the actions required by the safety improvement programme had been completed to date.

Unit 3 is scheduled for reconnection to the grid on 24 July.

Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News