Westinghouse to supply upgrade systems to Zaporozhe

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract with Ukrainian national nuclear generator Energoatom to supply monitoring instrumentation systems to the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant, as part of a long-term safety upgrade program.

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract with Ukrainian national nuclear generator Energoatom to supply monitoring instrumentation systems to the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant, as part of a long-term safety upgrade program.

Zaporozhe (Image: Energoatom)

The equipment will be delivered to units 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the plant, which is in the south-east of the country. The project is part of the Complex Consolidated Safety Upgrade Program of nuclear power plants in Ukraine, which is conducted under loan agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Euratom.

Units 1 and 2 underwent extended upgrades in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Westinghouse will provide accident and post-accident monitoring systems and hydrogen concentration monitoring systems for the four units. The upgrade also includes severe and design-basis accident field instrumentation, associated equipment, and installation supervision, training and warranty for products and services. Westinghouse will carry out the project with selected Ukrainian companies including Kharkov-based Westron, which is an I&C joint venture between Westinghouse and Ukrainian control systems design company Hartron.

The project will start immediately, Westinghouse said, with delivery to Zaporozhe 4 early next year, and the final delivery, to unit 6, at the end of 2019. Final acceptance of the last delivered system is planned for early 2021.

Aziz Dag, Westinghouse vice president and managing director for Northern Europe, said the project confirmed the US company as a "dedicated automation provider for [the] Ukrainian nuclear market" and reflected Energoatom's "high confidence" in it to deliver high-level safety solutions.

The program to bring Ukraine's operating nuclear reactors into line with international standards and local regulations began in 2011. The EBRD in 2013 agreed a €300 million ($327 million) loan, matching a similar one from Euratom for the project, estimated to cost €1.4 billion in total. Originally planned for completion this year, the target date was moved to 2020 after Ukraine's 2014 change in government delayed the entry into force of the funding agreements.

The Zaporozhe plant hosts six V-320 VVER reactors, each of 950 MWe (net) capacity. Its first unit started commercial operation in December 1985, while unit 6 was connected to the grid at the end of 1995. It is the biggest nuclear power station in Europe

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News