Ukraine’s Zaporozhia Nuclear Plant Could Restart 18 Months After War Ends

By Michael Kern of OilPrice.com,

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since early 2022, could resume operations within a year and a half after a potential end to the war, the head of the plant’s Russian operating company said on Monday. 

“If this (the end of the conflict) happens tomorrow, we will be ready to start up in mid-2027,” Ramil Galiyev, CEO of the Zaporizhzhya NPP Operating Organization, said, as carried by Russia’s state news agency RIA. 

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is not operational and does not produce electricity, but needs power supply from external sources to cool the nuclear material and avoid a nuclear meltdown or disaster.

Zaporizhzhia is Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in terms of installed capacity of 5.7 gigawatts (GW).

Located in Enerhodar, the nuclear power plant supplied about 20% of Ukraine’s electricity before the war. 

Earlier this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began a process to help restore external electricity to the power plant, following weeks of diplomatic engagement with both Ukraine and Russia after the facility again lost all access to the national grid.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced that work had begun to re-establish off-site power through repairs to the damaged 750 kV Dniprovska and 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 transmission lines.

These lines, located on opposite sides of the front line, are essential for supplying the electricity needed to cool the plant’s six shutdown reactors and spent fuel.

Last week, Russian media claimed that the Trump Administration held talks with Russia over joint management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, including the potential to use its power for crypto mining. The discussions, which have not been independently confirmed, were allegedly held without Ukraine’s participation, and likewise proposed resuming electricity supply to Ukraine, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Friday.