19 Jul (NucNet): Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has approved a 20-year extension of the operating licence for the Rovno-3 nuclear power plant.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRC) said the unit can now operate until 11 December 2037.
In early 2017 state-owned nuclear operator Energoatom said it was carrying out a series of activities at Rovno-3 to improve safety and prepare the unit for a possible lifetime extension.
The unit was shut down in December 2017 for work which included major refurbishment and repair work to the steam generators, the pressuriser, the turbines and the generator.
Work was also carried out on equipment that forms the plant’s safety trains – three separate systems that consist of safety related instrumentation and control hardware and software.
Rovno-3 is a 950-MW Soviet-supplied VVER-320 reactor unit. It began commercial operation in May 1987.
There are four units in commercial operation at Rovno in western Ukraine. The SNRC approved 20-year licence extensions for Rovno-1 and-2 in December 2010.
Ukraine has 15 nuclear units in commercial operation at four sites, Khmelnitski, Rovno, South Ukraine and Zaporozhye.
