News Agency MINPROM //

The widespread accident in NPP "Fukushima-1 " in Japan in 25 years after the disaster in Chernobyl has reminded again to the inhabitants of Ukraine about the threat proceeding from atoms for peace. We would like to remind you that today 4 NPPs are operating in the country,  and construction of new nuclear power units is being planned. Prime-Minister, Nikolay Azarov, has declared in connection with the Japanese events that there is no alternative to development of atomic energy in Ukraine. With the help of its experts MinProm has found out  to what extent it corresponds to the existing situation.

Member of the Parliamentary Committee on the TEC matters and Ex-Minister of the coal industry, Victor Topolov, believes that Ukraine, in any case, cannot give up from using of  atomic energy in one stage.

"We do not have such generating power now to replace immediately in the ТPS the production  of the required volumes  from the NPP shutdown. We do not have the volumes of coal mining required for it. Thus, the task of giving up from atomic energy can be set only as the  strategic one in the long-term prospects, and we should approach it step by step. Obviously, it was meant by Nikolay Yanovich - the status of the economy is such that we are not ready to give up from using NPPs ",  V.Topolov said.

In addition he noted that generation of electrical energy in the TPS by burning mineral fuel, and also on the basis of renewable sources (wind, water, solar energy) costs  much more expensive than in nuclear reactors. According to V.Topolov, in this connection the Ukrainian society should determine for itself, whether  it is ready to pay more for safe electric power." “In this case it will cost,  as minimum, twice as expensive than it is now. And everybody should  understand it clearly", - the member of the Parliamentary Committee on TEC matters noticed.

He also has emphasized that accident rate in atomic energy was generally much more low  than, for example, in the coal industry. "However,  in this case the consequence of the accidents are much more serious, from the point of view of ecology, and they are perceived by the society very morbidly ",  V.Topolov noted.

In his turn, leading expert of power programs of the Center of Economic and Political Researches named after A.Razumkov, Vladimir Omelchenko, supposes that giving up from using atomic energy, which currently takes 47 % in the balance of Ukraine, is impossible and  inexpedient.   “Certainly, it is necessary to increase the level of extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials for thermal power, develop usage of renewable sources, introduce energy saving,  but it is not an alternative to atomic energy. We can not place a bet on it",  he emphasized.

He also has reminded that the NPPs operating  in Japan had been constructed a long time ago, even in 1950s, according to the American technologies ,which, as it was found out, are not so reliable, as it had been customary to consider before. "As far as Ukraine is concerned, we are not in the seismically active zone, and we do not face such risks",  V.Omelchenko supposes.

At the same time, in his opinion, increase of safety of operation of the Ukrainian NPPs  shall be a priority task of nuclear engineers in connection with the events in Japan. "To develop a new concept of radiation safety in the NPP, tighten the existing regulations and norms is actually necessary. And it should be implemented, first of all, in new power units, which it is planned to construct in the Khmelnitskaya NPP",  the expert said.

Ex-Chairman of the board of JSC "Ukrhydroenergo", Simeon Potashnik, also has noted that he considered impossible to replace the nuclear constituent in the energy balance of Ukraine in view of its big relative weight. He has reminded that the Power strategy of Ukraine till 2030 stipulated substantial increase of the volumes of electric power generation by the  HPS.

"Now we have 5 million MW of the installed capacity in the  HPS, and it should be 10 million MW. 10 billion K.W.H. are currently generated, and it will be 18-20 billion K.W.H. But it is very difficult to give up from the NPP completely, and I even think that it is impossible to replace it",  the expert said.

The Chairman of the board of JSC "Dneprenergo", Jury Bochkarev, also has expressed his opinion that the atomic energy in Ukraine would be developing further." All these gossips about the TPP excess  capacities with usage of coal  do not correspond to the existing situation. The problem is that currently thermal power in Ukraine, despite of all financial efforts, which we are putting in updating, maintenance work, has exhausted its resources. Speaking more simply, to close all the NPPs and replace their generation process by electric power in the ТPPs will require unavailable funds. Therefore, the atomic energy will be developing, there will be new types of reactors, including ones in Germany, where currently the NPP shutdown is being discussed ",  Yu.Bochkarev said.

Besides,  the analyst of Investment Company "Dragon Capital", Denis Sakva, has specified that even according to the approximate estimation, the replacement of 1 thousand МW of the installed capacity of atomic energy for the thermal one will cost 1 billion USD., taking into account  a high share of the infrastructural component in implementation of similar projects." That is in such case it is necessary to involve 7-8 billion Dollars of investments. It is unreal, and  nobody will agree to it ",  the expert summarized.