An operating licence has been issued for Ukraine’s Centralised Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (CSNFSF), The licence was handed to nuclear utility Energoatom Chairman Pavlo Kovtonyuk by Oleg Korikov, head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU).
“Obtaining a licence to operate the CSNFSF confirms the ability of the Ukrainian nuclear industry to implement large-scale and technologically complex projects in accordance with the highest global safety standards,” said Kovtonyuk. “The operation of the storage facility for the next 100 years strengthens the energy stability of Ukrainian nuclear generation, guarantees reliable handling of spent nuclear fuel and provides the state with a significant economic benefit. Every year Ukraine saves about $200m which were previously spent on exporting the fuel abroad.”
SNRIU head Korikov noted: “Issuing a licence for the ‘nuclear facility operation’ life cycle stage of the CSNFSF means completion of the process of establishing our own system for safe management of used nuclear fuel in Ukraine. It is important that the operation of the facility will ensure compliance with nuclear and radiation safety requirements, as well as IAEA standards. They specify that the reactor holding pools of each reactor facility must have free volume for complete unloading of the core at any time during operation. I congratulate you on this event and wish you trouble-free operation.”
The CSNFSF located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, is a dry storage site for used nuclear fuel assemblies from Ukraine’s VVER-1000 and VVER-440 reactors. Its design capacity is for 16,530 used fuel assemblies, including 12,010 VVER-1000 assemblies and 4520 VVER-440 assemblies. Contracts were signed for its construction with USA-based Holtec International in 2005. However, construction did not start until 2017.
The 12-year delay between signing the contract in 2005 and starting construction in 2017 on the Central Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (CSNFSF) was primarily caused by legislative hurdles, site selection politics, and funding disputes.
During the delay, the estimated cost of the project ballooned from $126m to around $300m. After geopolitical tensions with Russia escalated in 2014, the project was viewed as a matter of critical national security finally pushed the Ukrainian government to clear the remaining regulatory and other hurdles.
