The Presidents of HoltecInternational, Dr. Kris Singh, and NAEK Energoatom, Yuriy Nedashkovskiy, signedan amendment to the Contract for construction of the Central Storage Facilityfor spent nuclear fuel on 24 June 2014 in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

The Amendment is aimed at resuming works under the Contract originally signed in 2005, beginning with the development of the Central Storage Facility design documents. The way to this phase was paved after the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution on allotment of two land plots with a total area of 45.2 hectares in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in compliance with the Law of Ukraine “On Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Location, Design and Construction of the Central Storage Facility for SpentNuclear Fuel from Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants with VVER Reactors”.

PresidentNedashkovskiy said delays with approval of the law by the Ukrainian Parliamentand lack of the resolution on allocation of land hindered practicalimplementation of the Contract signed between Energoatom and Holtec in 2005.Things have changed dramatically for the last nine years directly affecting thecontract’s structure and causing the need for revising the entire contract.President Nedashkovskiy instructed Energoatom’s respective divisions topromptly set up a dedicated group and begin  revising the contract. Inparticular, new contract terms will include switching from the tender-basedprice build up formula to the “cost+” formula, new financing mechanism andEnergoatom’s taking over responsibility for part of the works.

Holtec’s President Dr. Kris Singh assured his Ukrainian partnersthat the project will employ the latest and the most effective technologiesstating, “You may be sure that Ukraine will receive the most reliable and safesystem for storage of spent nuclear fuel”.

A reminder that construction completion and commissioning of theinitial facility (so-called “start-up complex”) is planned for the end of 2017.The facility will accommodate spent fuel from three Ukrainian nuclear powerplants: the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power stations. TheZaporizhzhya nuclear power plant operates its own on-site spent fuel storageinstallation commissioned in 2001. According to the Feasibility Study developedby the Kyiv Research and Design Institute Energoproject (KIEP), the CentralStorage Facility design capacity is 16,530 spent fuel assemblies, including 12,010VVER-1000 assemblies and 4,520 VVER-440 assemblies. At the initial stage, thestorage facility start-up complex capacity will be 3,620 spent fuel assemblieswhere 2,510 assemblies coming from VVER-1000 reactors.

The storage facility site is located between the [re-settled]villages Stara Krasnytsya, Buryakovka, Chystohalivka and Stechenka, south-eastfrom the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, within the exclusion zone and zone ofabsolute re-settlement.

The allocated land plots will accommodate the storage facilityitself and the railway line connecting the Central Storage Site to the publicrailway between the villages Vilcha and Yanov.

The aforementioned land plots were handed over based on the Law ofUkraine “On Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Location, Design andConstruction of the Central Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel fromUkrainian Nuclear Power Plants with VVER Reactors” adopted in 2012. The lawapproves construction of the Central Storage Facility and identifies itslocation. However, until recently, Energoatom was not able to take ownership ofthe land for construction of the facility and begin the design works. 

This issue of Holtec Highlights is excerpted from the announcementmade by Energoatom in Ukrainian.