Chernobyl nuclear power plant

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Chernobyl nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power plant in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.

Project Details

Table 1: Unit-level project details for Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Unit name	Status	Commissioning year	Retirement year	Cancellation year	Nameplate capacity	Reactor type	Model	Owner	Operator
1	Retired	1978	1996	–	800 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	SE NNEGC "Energoatom" [100%]	Mintopenergo Of Ukraine
2	Retired	1979	1991	–	1000 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	SE NNEGC "Energoatom" [100%]	Mintopenergo Of Ukraine
3	Retired	1982	2000	–	1000 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	SE NNEGC "Energoatom" [100%]	Mintopenergo Of Ukraine
4	Retired	1984	1986	–	1000 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	SE NNEGC "Energoatom" [100%]	Mintopenergo Of Ukraine
5	Cancelled	–	–	1989	1000 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	–	–
6	Cancelled	–	–	1989	1000 MW	Light water graphite reactor	RBMK	–	–

Table 2: Additional unit-level timeline details for Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Unit name	Construction start	First criticality (more info)	First grid connection	Commercial operation	Retirement date
1	March 1, 1970	August 2, 1977	September 26, 1977	May 27, 1978	November 30, 1996
2	February 1, 1973	November 17, 1978	December 21, 1978	May 28, 1979	October 11, 1991
3	March 1, 1976	June 2, 1981	December 3, 1981	June 8, 1982	December 15, 2000
4	April 1, 1979	November 26, 1983	December 22, 1983	March 26, 1984	April 26, 1986

Table 3: Additional unit-level capacity details for Chernobyl nuclear power plant

(Read more about nuclear capacity definitions.)

Unit name	Reference net capacity	Design net capacity	Thermal capacity
1	740 MW	925 MW	3200 MWt
2	925 MW	925 MW	3200 MWt
3	925 MW	925 MW	3200 MWt
4	925 MW	925 MW	3200 MWt

Location

Table 4: Unit-level location details for Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Unit name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
1	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3893, 30.1066 (exact)
2	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3894, 30.1047 (exact)
3	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3894, 30.1007 (exact)
4	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3893, 30.0984 (exact)
5	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3813, 30.1195 (exact)
6	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine	51.3821, 30.1195 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the nuclear power plant:

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Background

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power plant that is in the process of decommissioning. The plant is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine.

In 1986, reactor Unit 4 had a major accident which is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at maximum severity of 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The accident sent a radioactive cloud across much of Europe. Following the accident, the reactor 4 was encased in a giant concrete ‘sarcophagus’ to prevent further leakage of radioactive material. Hundreds of thousands of mobilised soldiers and civilian experts constructed the sarcophagus above the destroyed reactor, and the plant was re-opened in late 1986.

The three other reactors remained operational post-accident. Unit 2 was placed in permanent shutdown in 1991 following a fire. Unit 1 was shut down in 1996 as it had reached the end of its lifespan. The last Unit 3 was switched off only in 2000. Units 5 and 6 were under construction at the time of accident in 1986 and were never finished.

As a result of the accident, the plant is now within a large restricted area Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Both the zone and the power plant are administered by the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management.

Unit 4

The sarcophagus built over the destroyed Unit 4 was unstable and needed further repair. A stabilising steel structure was extended in December 2006 to spread some of the load on the walls damaged by the explosion.

In 1997 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) established the Chernobyl Shelter Fund to support Ukraine in developing a site for temporary shelter over the destroyed reactor. The fund received more than €1.6bn ($1.9bn) from 45 donors and was closed in late 2020. The New Safe Confinement (or Shelter) was put in place in 2016, enclosing also the sarcophagus built earlier. The project was implemented at a cost of €2.15bn ($2.7bn). A Bechtel-led consortium was selected for the management of the Shelter Implementation Project. NOVARKA, a French joint venture comprising construction companies Bouygues and Vinci, constructed the Shelter structure.

A separate project was to build a storage facility for nuclear waste - named the Interim Storage Facility 2 - to store the spent fuel assemblies that were present at the plant, to be loaded into approximately 231 waste canisters, and stored for 100 years. Construction of the storage facility began in 2007 was carried out by the US company Holtec. In 2020, the storage facility was completed with the first canister of nuclear waste loaded into the storage area.

Units 1-3 and Overall Decommissioning

In January 2009, the Ukrainian Government passed a state law to transform the Chernobyl shelter facility into an environmentally safe system to protect the surroundings from radiation. The programme is being executed in four stages.

1) Nuclear fuel was moved to a storage facility in the first stage, which was completed in 2015. It was reported in 2015 that Units 1-3 entered the decommissioning stage. The decommissioning of units 1-3 is being carried out separately from that of the destroyed unit 4, which is expected to take longer to complete.

2) All the reactors will be deactivated in the second stage from 2015 till approximately 2028, including:

    • Bringing the units to the state that excludes the possibility of using them for power generation;

    • Removing ionizing radiation sources that are subject to control from the Units;

    • Preservation of reactors and the most radioactively contaminated equipment.

3) The third stage involves maintaining the reactors until radiation naturally drops to an acceptable level, which is envisaged to be completed by 2045

4) The fourth and final stage involves dismantling the reactors and clearing the site, which is expected to be completed by 2065

The programme is being financed by the EBRD and other international donors. The EBRD established the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA) in 2020 to update, integrate and optimise existing strategies within a revised comprehensive and integrated plan for the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Chernobyl maintains a large workforce as the ongoing decommissioning process requires constant management. As of January 2023, there were 2533 employees.

War in Ukraine

Russian troops occupied the plant from 24 February to 31 March 2022, when they withdrew. The EBRD subsequently calculated that damage caused to buildings, equipment and infrastructure to cost at least EUR100 million (USD102 million) to repair.

IEAE visited the plant in April 2022 to assess the situation, concluding that all facilities at the plant were operational despite the damage, and all of the radiation protection and radiation monitoring were in place during the occupation. However, in case of environmental monitoring, many of the fixed and mobile monitoring stations were damaged and out of service. Extensive damage was caused at the Ecocentre. This included the laboratory for chemical treatment of environmental samples and specialized laboratories for radiation monitoring and spectrometry.

Radioactive waste processing and disposal activities were resumed at the plant in August 2022. The licenses for decommissioning work at units 1,2 and 3, operation of the confinement complex and the shelter facility and other licenses were also renewed in August 2022.

A permanent IAEA presence at the Chernobyl site was set up in January 2023.

As of February 2023, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is gradually recovering from the Russian military actions. Damage has occurred to structures and infrastructure at the plant site and the Exclusion Zone, and operating staff have been working on repairs although this is still challenged with the ongoing military activities.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of global nuclear power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Nuclear Power Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.