American company Westinghouse has officially confirmed that the Bulgarian VVER-1000 reactors at the Belene nuclear power plant, which are planned to be installed at units No. 3 and No. 4 of the Khmelnytskyi NPP, will be able to operate on American fuel.
As reported by the state enterprise "NAEK "Energoatom" on Wednesday, this assurance was provided by Aziz Dag, Managing Director of Westinghouse Electric Sweden, in an official letter to NAEK.
"Westinghouse confirms the ability to timely supply a compatible design of the TVS (fuel assembly - IF-U) for the first and subsequent cycles of KhNPP-3, KhNPP-4 based on the V-466V reactor," the letter states.
Furthermore, as Aziz Dag noted, considering the timelines for the implementation of the nuclear fuel project, his company recommends starting discussions on technical details and determining the scope of work for the expertise and implementation of the fuel project in the near future.
Additionally, as highlighted by NAEK, the safety analysis report provided by specialists indicates that the active zone of the VVER-1000 V-466V reactor consists of 163 TV3-A fuel assemblies. This type of TV3-A has been used for a long time in the active zones of VVER-1000 reactors that are successfully operated in Ukraine.
"Thus, the company Westinghouse has debunked manipulative claims made by pseudo-experts regarding the impossibility of using American fuel in the reactors of the Bulgarian Belene nuclear power plant, which Ukraine plans to acquire from Sofia," noted representatives from "Energoatom."
As previously reported, the Energy and Housing and Communal Services Committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported a draft law granting NAEK "Energoatom" permission to purchase equipment necessary for the construction of units No. 3 and 4 of the Khmelnytskyi NPP from Bulgaria.
The relevant decision was made by the energy committee through amendments to the draft law No. 11392, which was adopted in the first reading on July 2, 2024, during its meeting on January 16.
"Energoatom" plans to complete the construction of units No. 3 and No. 4 at the KhNPP using Soviet-designed VVER-1000 reactors, as well as to implement future projects for the construction of units No. 5 and No. 6 with reactors from American Westinghouse.