In terms of the total capacity of nuclear power plants, Ukraine ranks eighth in the world among the small number of countries that generally own nuclear energy. For Ukraine, this energy industry has always been of great importance not only in terms of obtaining its own energy, but also in terms of its own resources for the construction and maintenance of power plants by a domestic manufacturer, which implies economic development and real jobs in the country.
Yevgen Levchenko, General Designer of JSC “Turboatom”, spoke about the role of “Turboatom” in the Ukrainian nuclear power industry.
The share of nuclear electricity in the total volume of electricity produced in Ukraine (other types - hydro, thermal, solar, wind, bio) - on average 55% per year, ranges from 50 to 70% in the autumn-winter periods. This is a huge share. More than half of the energy produced is nuclear. The potential of the country's economy is based on nuclear energy. In terms of the share of nuclear energy in the volume of all generated electricity, Ukraine ranks third in the world. Some countries that followed the path of closing nuclear power plants have now rethought, including Germany. On the contrary, France is engaged in the development of nuclear energy and the construction of new units. Old equipment should be replaced with new, modern ones.
There are four nuclear power plants in Ukraine: South Ukrainian, Khmelnytsky, Rivne and Zaporizhzhya, the largest in Europe, with six 1000 MW units. There are 15 power units operating at these nuclear power plants, of which 13 are with 1000 MWe reactor units, two 440 MW units.
12 turbines of “Turboatom” were installed at 10 units, turbines manufactured by “Power Machines” (RF) - at five.
In total, there are 20 1000 MWe reactor units in the world with our turbines, of which 8 are in Ukraine. The first 1000 MWe reactor unit has been in operation since 1982 at the SUNPP.
The role of “Turboatom” in the country's nuclear power industry is significant, but the responsibility for the reliable and efficient operation of NPP turbines is also high. These circumstances set the tasks for the enterprise.
First, it is necessary to accompany the successful and reliable operation of operating turbines on operating units. This is engineering and technical maintenance of operation. Kharkiv turbine builders provide support and execution of turbine repairs.
The second task, which is more important and technically difficult, is the modernization of existing turbines. For many years, new units were not built, the existing ones were introduced and completed. For about 15 years we have been modernizing our turbines installed at nuclear power plants. “Turboatom” comes up with proposals for optimizing and increasing the efficiency of the turbines of operating units. We generate design and technological ideas, we offer the customer to increase the efficiency of work: reliability, efficiency and resource extension. Atomic engineers are engaged in extending the life of operating units. This is not possible on older hardware. We renew and modernize our turbine equipment. The service life of the unit is extended by 10-20 years.
The third is import substitution. We are actively cooperating with NNEGC “Energoatom” under the modernization program. Now we are working in accordance with the signed equipment modernization program, which concerns all 15 units and is valid until 2024.
The biggest job is replacing turbine condensers, which are not working efficiently. We have developed new block-modular condensers made of corrosion-resistant materials. Installation of new condensers allows to optimize the operation of the unit, to increase the power of the units by 20 MW each, in summer periods - by 50 MW. This is a phenomenal result. We have already replaced the capacitors on six of the 15 units and we continue to move in this direction. This work was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology in 2018.
In addition, we are changing the condensers of the driven turbines. The capacitors previously supplied by Russian enterprises have already been replaced at three units.
The next major work has been carried out since last year - the modernization of the flow paths of the turbine cylinders. Under the same modernization program. A new flow path of a high-pressure cylinder with new blades was installed at unit No. 2 of South-Ukrainian NPP, which made it possible to increase the capacity by 20 MW.
The merit of the plant also lies in the fact that we provide modernization of the elements of the flow path on the existing rotors, which allows us to minimize costs. Foreign companies offer rotor replacement in their solutions, which significantly increases the cost of such projects. “Turboatom” provides efficient solutions with minimal replacement volume.
If we talk about import substitution, let me remind you that there are five Russian-made 1000 MWe reactor turbines in Ukraine. At the request of “Energoatom”, we have developed new titanium alloy moving blades. Previously, “Turboatom” did not work with titanium at all. The design of the moving blade developed by us allowed us to improve the operational characteristics: the guaranteed service life increased from 100 thousand hours to 160 thousand hours. Since 2015, we have mastered production and supply moving blades for replacement during repairs, since a resource of 100 thousand hours has already come up for them. In total, there are 40 rows of such blades on the turbines of five units, 19 of which we have already changed.
During the work, it became clear that it was necessary to change the blades not only at the fifth stage (titanium), but also at the third. Last year, we prepared a replacement project for the third stage, developed and offered the customer to change the fourth as well. This will increase operational reliability and reduce repair costs.
In addition, our designers have developed fasteners for the reactor pressure vessels, which have not been previously produced in Ukraine. We are also ready to manufacture equipment for CSFS (centralized spent-fuel storage).
It is worth noting individually that all this is done by “Turboatom” without any preferences, as a Ukrainian manufacturer, by participating in procurement tenders on a general basis.
As of today, “Turboatom” has valid contracts with NNEGC “Energoatom” - in the amount of 2.375 billion UAH. Some of the work has already been completed, the products have been shipped, and work on some contracts is still underway. Everything is progressing according to the plans of the power engineers. Everything except payment.
Products for 1.9 billion UAH is already manufactured and shipped. “Energoatom” owes “Turboatom” about 750 million under the terms of contracts, the terms of payment for which have already come. And if we add to this amount the funds that we must receive for the products already shipped, then the debt will reach 900 million UAH. The billion that we have already received also came with delays. This hinders our ability to move forward.
The problem is that, as we know from publications in the media, the debt to NNEGC “Energoatom” from NEC “Ukrenergo” and SE “Guaranteed Buyer” is 30 billion UAH. The decision of NEURC on the distribution of funds to pay off debt to electricity producers was made. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers took over the management of “Energoatom”. All this inspires optimism that the situation will be resolved. Otherwise, the Ukrainian nuclear power industry and manufacturers of products for it will face further difficulties. Therefore, the problem of paying off existing debts and paying for products under contracts must be resolved urgently.