| Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station | |
|---|---|
 Two cooling towers at left, one largely obscured by the other, and the six reactor buildings viewed from the Nikopol shore. The large building between the cooling towers and the reactors, and the two tall smokestacks, are at the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station, beyond the nuclear plant. | |
 | |
| Official name | Запорізька атомна електростанція |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Location | Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast |
| Coordinates | 47°30′30″N 34°35′04″E / 47.50833°N 34.58444°E |
| Status | Shutdown |
| Construction began | Unit 1: 1 April 1980 Unit 2: 1 January 1981 Unit 3: 1 April 1982 Unit 4: 1 April 1983 Unit 5: 1 November 1985 Unit 6: 1 June 1986 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: 25 December 1985 Unit 2: 15 February 1986 Unit 3: 5 March 1987 Unit 4: 14 April 1988 Unit 5: 27 October 1989 Unit 6: 17 September 1996 |
| Owner | Energoatom |
| Operators | Energoatom (De jure) Rosatom (De facto) |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors | 6 |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Atomstroyexport |
| Cooling towers | 2 |
| Cooling source | Kakhovka Reservoir |
| Thermal capacity | 6 × 3000 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 6 × 950 MW |
| Make and model | 6 × VVER-1000/320 |
| Nameplate capacity | 5700 MW |
| Capacity factor | 58.68% |
| Annual net output |
|
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station (Ukrainian: Запорізька атомна електростанція, romanized: Zaporiz'ka atomna elektrostantsiia) in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. It has been under Russian control since 2022. It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. From 1996 to 2022, it was operated by Energoatom, which operates Ukraine's other three nuclear power stations.
| 1–6. | Reactor units 1–6 |
| 7. | Electricity pylons |
| 8. | Training building shelled |
| 9. | Radioactive waste storage |
| 10. | Cooling pond |
| 11. | Cooling towers |
| 12. | Kakhovka Reservoir |
The plant has six VVER-1000 pressurized light water nuclear reactors (PWR), each fuelled with 235U (LEU)[1] and generating 950 MWe, for a total power output of 5,700 MWe.[2] The first five were successively brought online between 1985 and 1989, and the sixth was added in 1995. In 2020, the plant generated nearly half of the country's electricity derived from nuclear power,[3] and more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine.[4] The Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is nearby.
On 4 March 2022, days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces seized both the nuclear and thermal power stations.[5][6][7][8] As of 12 March 2022[update], the Russian company Rosatom claimed control over the plant.[9] Since its capture, the plant does not generate power and is mostly shut down.[10]
- ^ Kosourov, E.; Pavlov, V.; Pavlovcev, A.; Spirkin, E. (2003), Improved VVER-1000 fuel cycle (PDF), Moscow, Russia: RRC Kurchatov Institute, retrieved 5 March 2022
- ^ "Nuclear Power Plants in Lithuania & Ukraine". Industcards.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
wnn-20171107was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "SS "Zaporizhzhia NPP"". www.energoatom.com.ua. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Polityuk, Pavel; Vasovic, Aleksandar; Irish, John (4 March 2022). "Russian forces seize huge Ukrainian nuclear plant, fire extinguished". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Daniel Ten Kate, David Stringer (4 March 2022). "Russian Forces Occupy Site of Nuclear Plant as Fire Contained". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Boynton, Sean (4 March 2022). "Russian troops capture Europe's largest power plant in Ukraine after intense battle". Global News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Russia Seizes Ukraine Nuclear Plant Hours After Attack: 10 Points". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Petrenko, Roman (12 March 2022). "Invaders seize Zaporizhzhia power plant and claims it is part of Rosatom". Ukrayinska Pravda. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ Hunder, Max (2 December 2023). "Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant suffered power outage, energy ministry says". Reuters. Retrieved 12 January 2024.