Russian regulator issues license for another unit at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Russia is taking steps to restart Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with Russia’s nuclear regulator issuing an operating license for the second unit. The plant is not, however, located in Russia; it is Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia began occupying it in 2022 after launching its military invasion of Ukraine.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been under Russian control for nearly four years. The plant has long been the focus of European governments, national nuclear regulators and international agencies, particularly because of its proximity to the front line. It has long faced problems with its electricity supply, with Russia and Ukraine repeatedly accusing each other of attacks on nearby energy infrastructure. All six nuclear units are shut down, so the plant has to rely on external supplies to ensure cooling.

With an installed capacity of 5.7 GW, the plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It could provide Ukraine with much-needed capacity, which the country lacks following Russia’s extensive attacks on its infrastructure. For now, however, it seems that if the plant is restarted in the near future, it will be under Russian control.

According to World Nuclear News, Russia’s nuclear regulator, Rostekhnadzor, issued a ten-year operating license for the second unit in February. The first unit had already received an operating license from the Russian regulator at the end of last year. A similar application was also submitted for the sixth unit, while the remaining three units are expected to follow by the end of this year.

A number of factors are preventing the plant from restarting

Since September 2022, experts under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been continuously monitoring the plant’s operations and nuclear safety. Ukraine says, however, that returning the plant to its control would be the best way to ensure safe operations.

Last June, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi discussed the situation at the plant and the possibility of restarting it with Alexey Likhachev, head of Russian nuclear giant Rosatom. Grossi later said at a press conference that there was a shared view that restarting the plant under the current circumstances would not be appropriate.

“There are also other, more technical aspects, such as whether there is enough water available to cool the reactors, and whether there is sufficient and stable external power supply to ensure that there is no power outage after startup and that the plant can continue to operate,” Grossi said at a press conference after his discussion with Likhachev, according to World Nuclear News.