WISE - NIRS Nuclear Monitor 614

What happened 25 years ago? We go back to news from our 1979 WISE Bulletin, comparing anti-nuclear news then and now.

Then
In WISE Bulletin 6 we reported on the conception of the Ukrainian Khmelnitsky project: "The Soviet Union started construction of a new power plant in the Ukraine. The installation will have a capacity of 4000 MW. Part of the electricity will be exported to Eastern European countries". (WISE Bulletin 6, October 1979)

Now
The project to build a NPP at Khmelnitsky has been under media and NGO scrutiny in recent years since the European Union considered and later approved financial subsidies for the second reactor at the site (and money for the Rovno-4 reactor).

Initially, the Khmelnitsky NPP was a joint project of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic and Poland. Each would be responsible for one element of the construction, such as building equipment and power lines. A special grid connection was to be built in Poland for the export of electricity to mid-European countries. (Nuclear Engineering International, August, 1979; Dansk Industri, October 1979)

The 950 MW Khmelnitsky-1 reactor was under construction from November 1981 and went critical on 10 December 1987. The construction of the other three reactors started between February 1985 and February 1987 but the last two units were never completed. (www.iaea.org)

After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, a five-year moratorium on new reactors was adopted in 1991, also affecting the construction of Khmelnitsky-2. (Nucleonics Week, 8 April 1993)

The European Commission, in 1995, proposed support for Ukraine in the form of financial contributions for two new reactors (K2/R4) on the condition that the remaining Chernobyl reactor closed. Ukraine and the G-7 countries then signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the closure of Chernobyl and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was asked to make a first assessment on the completion of K2/R4. (Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 28 April 1995; EBRD press release, 4 September 1996)

The plan was to approve an EBRD loan of US$ 215 million and an Euratom loan of US$ 585 million. Other contributors would have to raise the outstanding amount required for the entire project (US$ 1.48 billion). (WISE News Communique 559, 7 December 2001)

The plans for financing the completion of K2/R4 were opposed by NGOs like Greenpeace, FOE, CEE Bankwatch, WISE/NIRS and many others. Campaign work showed that the VVER-1000 reactors were not essential to Ukraine, lacked many safety features and that the decision-making process was undemocratic. (Various reports from Laka Foundation archive)

The Ukraine unexpectedly withdrew its application for the EBRD loan in December 2001 because it was not willing to meet the conditions. (WISE News Communique 559, 7 December 2001)

The EBRD however continued, in 2004, to consider a loan for K2/R4 safety upgrading projects. In July it decided to contribute US$ 42 million for last-minute safety patches before the reactors open in August/September 2004. This amount will be increased by a US$ 83 million loan from Euratom. (WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 611, 11 June 2004)

WISE-Amsterdam/NIRS

ISSN: 1570-4629

Reproduction of this material is encouraged. Please give credit when reprinting.

Editorial team: Tinu Otoki (WISE Amsterdam), Michael Mariotte (NIRS). With contributions from CRIIRAD, S.P. Udayakumar and Zia Mian & A.H. Nayyar.

The next issue (615) will be mailed out September 17, 2004.

SUMMER BREAK

The editorial team is taking a much-needed break for summer. Unfortunately, this means a short interruption in service but happily, the Nuclear Monitor will be back in September; next issue will be mailed out on the 17^th.

Until then, we wish you well and look forward to communicating with you again in the autumn.

Happy holidays!
WISE Amsterdam

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