Ukraine signs deal with Westinghouse to develop nine nuclear power plants

Ukraine has signed three agreements with US nuclear power company Westinghouse to grow the nuclear power units to be built in the country to nine, and supply fuel to all of its atomic power stations, Ukraine’s state nuclear company said on Friday.

Petro Kotin, the President of Ukraine’s National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, signed the agreements with Patrick Fragman, President and CEO at Westinghouse Electric Company, in the presence of Ukraine’s Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko and Sweden's Ambassador to Ukraine, Tobias Thyberg.

As per the agreements, Westinghouse will also establish an engineering centre in Ukraine.

The deals mark a decisive shift in Ukraine’s nuclear policy and is aimed at ending the country’s reliance on Russian supplies.

Building on earlier agreements, the deal with Westinghouse requires Westinghouse to supply fuel to all of Ukraine’s atomic plants, Energoatom said in a statement.

“We will modernise our fleet of nuclear power units, which will produce clean, safe and reliable energy without any Russian influence,” Halushchenko said in a statement.

Ukraine currently has four working nuclear power stations, the largest of which is under Russian control, but still operated by Ukrainian technicians.

According to Halushchenko, nuclear power covers around 50% of all Ukrainian electricity needs and in future Ukraine could also be a supplier of electricity to western Europe.