Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear operator, has stopped the last reactor at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (Unit 6), effectively completely shutting down the 5.7 GW nuclear power plant, located in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southern Ukraine. Energoatom said that the shutdown was carried out as a safety measure and that preparations were underway for its cooling and transfer to a cold shutdown, the safest state.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which possesses six 950 MW reactors, is Europe’s largest. The first unit was completed in 1985 and the sixth unit in 1996. Energoatom intends to repair transmission lines, ensure connection to the grid and safe operations once the shelling around the plant has stopped.
In 2021, nuclear represented 25% of Ukraine’s installed capacity with 13.8 GW and 55% of its power generation with 86.2 TWh.