Nuclear safety remains highly precarious at the Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his latest update. The IAEA team at the ZNPP reported hearing explosions and other military activities on several days, coming from outside the site. Earlier, the team reported hearing six explosions very close to the site, although no impact on nuclear safety and security was reported.
The extremely fragile off-site power situation and difficulties related to access to cooling water continue to be two of the most challenging areas for nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP.
For four months now, the ZNPP has been forced to rely on one single external power line for the electricity it needs to cool its six reactors in their current cold shutdown state and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. Before the conflict, it had ten off-site power lines available.
The water level in the ZNPP cooling pond has dropped by just over 3.2 metres since the downstream Kakhovka dam was destroyed in June 2023, falling by almost 60 centimetres in the past three months alone. This recently prompted the ZNPP to build an isolation dam in the cooling pond channel that supplies water for several plant systems.
The IAEA team reported that the ZNPP is now using mobile pumps to transfer water from the main cooling pond into this cooling channel, whose current height of about 14.1 metres enables other pumps to provide cooling water to the main reactor unit transformers and other important operating systems. “We will continue to monitor this matter very closely, as reliable access to cooling water is essential for nuclear safety and security,” said Grossi.
The IAEA team recently performed a walkdown of another vital part of the ZNPP cooling infrastructure – 12 sprinkler ponds that receive water from groundwater wells that were drilled after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. These ponds are providing water to cool the reactors and spent fuel, among other systems important to safety. The team confirmed that they are all full. The IAEA team also observed planned maintenance activities being performed on equipment that form part of the safety systems of reactor units 2 and 6.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev have said Moscow is open to working with both US Westinghouse, which previously supplied fuel to the ZNPP, and the Ukrainian energy grid, which previously consumed electricity generated by the plant. However, there are several important conditions that must be met for such cooperation to occur.
During a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation meeting in Tianjin, Putin commented: “By the way, I’m just saying this, by the way, we can cooperate with our American partners at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. We have indirectly discussed these issues with them.” He added that the same applies to the Ukrainian side. “If the circumstances are favourable, and we have discussed this with our American colleagues, we can even work together,” he said.
While some commentators interpreted this as implying joint ownership or management of the plant, Russian officials have repeatedly made it clear that ZNPP is now considered part of Russia and any co-operation with the US or Ukraine will be limited to specific issues.
Alexey Likhachev, in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel during the Eastern Economic Forum, noted: “We have repeatedly reported to the president about our readiness to restart the plant. However, there is always a question about where we will distribute these 6 GWe of nuclear electricity. This is a significant figure,” he acknowledged. He added that the electricity would first be supplied to “our territories, which will now need increased energy supply”, and that “some of the electricity may become the subject of international cooperation”. He added that Moscow is ready to “consider a third party to these agreements, Ukraine, if the conditions are right”.
He continued: “For my part, I can say that we are ready for any decision. As soon as a final decision is made on the possibility of achieving full capacity, we can start these operations literally the next day.”
As to co-operation with the US, he explained that ZNPP has a mix of different fuels. “Two reactors still have Russian fuel, and four reactors have American fuel.… In principle, this could also be a subject of cooperation. We are well aware of the owner of the fuel, which is US Westinghouse. Until recently, we had working contacts, and we are ready to continue them if there is a political decision.”
Westinghouse-produced fuel began to be delivered to the ZNPP in 2016. By 2022, four power units (1, 3, 4&5) had been switched to Westinghouse fuel, which had previously been supplied by Russian company TVEL (part of Rosatom). Units 2&6 still use Russian fuel. Some of the used American fuel is stored at the plant. In August, Alexey Likhachev said the US had approached Russia about its fuel and “intellectual property” at ZNPP, which includes technical documentation. He said Moscow has conveyed to Washington through diplomatic channels and the IAEA that it is willing to discuss these issues.
Earlier, Alexey Likhachev said Rosatom has developed a plan to bring ZNPP to full capacity, but four main tasks had to be solved first – the station’s water supply, repair and connection of power grids, the issue of American fuel, and identification of energy consumers. In an interview with RIA Novosti, Evgeniya Yashina, Director of Communications at ZNPP, added two more conditions: “The end of hostilities and security guarantees.”
According to Valentin Gibalov, an independent expert on nuclear energy, one of the main problems preventing the restart of ZNPP is the lack of a water intake for the plant’s cooling system, which is caused by the fact that the Dnipro River has changed its course since the explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station. “The line of combat contact is currently located along the Dnipro River, and a new water intake cannot be built until the shelling stops,” he said in an interview with Kommersant. Among other problems hindering the restart of ZNPP is the presence of American fuel, which does not have a permit from the Russian regulator, and the power distribution scheme, which is mainly tied to Ukrainian territory.
While all these issues can be resolved in cooperation with the US and Ukraine, the last two can also be solved without their involvement. “The American fuel can simply be unloaded and replaced with Russian fuel, especially since the reactor was originally running on Russian fuel. There are more challenges with the power distribution, as it requires the construction of a significant number of new transmission lines to fully integrate the ZNPP into the Russian power grid. However, the station can operate using one or two units even without an agreement with the Ukrainians.”
Vyacheslav Kulagin, Head of Department at the Institute of Energy Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with Svpressa, noted that Ukraine’s energy shortage could indeed be a subject for cooperation. However, there are certain questions regarding ZNPP “and it is difficult to call it a gift for Russia – rather, it is a problem”.
He explained: “The question is how much these capacities are needed in the long term for the energy systems of both Russia and Ukraine. The fact is that several units are approaching the end of their service life, and ideally, the plant should be closed at the end of its service life. There is a choice: either to replace the units with new ones, which is very expensive, or to extend their service life, which is a common practice, but it requires monitoring their condition.”
He added: “In fact, all but one of the units have reached the end of their design life, and four of them have been extended, but they will also reach the end of their life in 2025-2028. If no additional decisions are made, the plant will have to be shut down after 2028.”
Asked about the possibility of the US or Ukraine having control of ZNPP, Kalugin replied: “There can be no question of control. There is no possibility of joint operation. Control and full responsibility rests with the territory where the station is located. There may be various commercial schemes where the Americans can act as intermediaries, although if it is about selling electricity, it is enough to sign a contract.”
He concluded: “Compromise solutions can be found for the utilisation of this electricity and investments in these power plants. External investors can be invited, and global companies can supply turbines. This is a complex issue that extends beyond the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant.
