UNIAN
The United States is ready to assist Ukraine in implementation of new projects in the field of nuclear energy by sharing expertise and assistance in attracting funding for reform in this sector, according to a statement released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and the Coal Industry.
Agreement on this was reached at working meeting on March 5 between Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn and Edward McGinnis, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Nuclear Energy.
On December 30, 2014, Ukraine signed a contract in Brussels with the US-Japanese company Westinghouse to increase the supply of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants.
According to the statement, the Ukrainian side has reported full execution of its obligations in the implementation of joint projects aimed at improving nuclear safety, nuclear fuel testing and the technical re-equipment of nuclear plant safety systems in Ukraine.
The ministry noted that in late 2014 and early 2015 additional agreements with U.S. companies were concluded that are related to the diversification of nuclear fuel supplies and the launch of construction work on building a centralized repository for spent nuclear fuel in Ukraine.
"This will help improve Ukraine’s energy security in the future, attract advanced technologies from abroad, avoid unnecessary costs in the removal and temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel, and reduce the dependence of Ukraine on the Russian Federation," the ministry statement reads.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the inspection of TVS-W fuel assemblies of Westinghouse company, which are in trial operation in reactor No. 3 in Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant has had positive results, which enables the core of the nuclear reactor to be powered only with U.S. fuel.
Cooperation between the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine Energoatom and Westinghouse was initiated within the framework of implementing Ukraine Nuclear Fuel Qualification Project in 2000 and carried on under a commercial contract signed in 2008.