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http://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/ukraine-nuclear-cooperation-china/en/
Published: 1 June, 2011, 06:36
Edited: 1 June, 2011, 06:36
Tatiana Ivzhenko (Kiev)
Ukraine and China are making arrangements for the use of the peaceful atom
The Ukrainian state-controlled company, Energoatom, which operates all the nuclear power plants in Ukraine and manages a number of related enterprises, had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Experts note that at the current stage the document is only a declaration of intent. They do not see a direct link between the memorandum and the difficulties which have recently emerged in the joint Russian-Ukrainian nuclear projects.
The press service of Energoatom has announced that the Ukrainian and Chinese companies intend to determine “the extent of future cooperation in the sphere of design, construction, launch, operation, and technical maintenance of nuclear power plants.” It separately addressed joint projects to create safe storage conditions for nuclear waste. Sources close to the negotiations say that another field of cooperation was discussed, namely uranium mining in the Ukrainian fields. However, the official report makes no mention of this.
All of the listed areas of cooperation have since Soviet times been implemented by Ukraine together with Russia. A year ago, during his visit to Kiev, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested merging the nuclear energy assets of the two countries. “We are talking about a large-scale cooperation of our nuclear sectors. We propose creating a large holding, which would include joint generation, nuclear engineering, and a fuel cycle,” he said. Putin explained that, in this format, Ukrainian and Russian nuclear specialists could more effectively work in the markets of third countries.
The proposal was left under the consideration of Ukraine, though several major joint projects have been approved since. In particular, long-term contracts have been signed for the supply of Russian nuclear fuel to Ukrainian NPPs, plans for the joint construction of two new power generating units at the Khmelnitsky NPP have been finalized, as well as plans to create a nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Ukraine, based on Russian technologies.
And even these projects are stalling in 2011 say specialists. Irina Mashek, an expert with the Ukrainian agency for news in the nuclear field, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) that the problem is that the Ukrainian government has failed to make a decision on the allocation of funds for a feasibility study of the plant’s construction design. It has also failed to provide government guarantees to attract Russian loans for the construction of the two power-generating units. According to her, Ukrainian state organizations operating in the sphere of environmental monitoring of the nuclear industry have recently become doubtful of the reliability and proper appraisal of Russian technologies: “They are probably just biding their time.”
The director of Energoatom's Atomproekt Engineering division, Vladimir Bronnikov, had earlier confirmed to the Ukrainian media that, due to the uncertainty regarding government guarantees, Sberbank of Russia, which plans to act as a lender, cannot start the allocation of funds. Specialists say the total volume of funding is at the level of $1 billion, and only one eighth of these funds has been guaranteed which, argue specialists, makes it impossible to draft the reactor design documents and orders for the necessary equipment on time. Ukrainian nuclear experts believe that the issue could be resolved within the framework of a meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Economic Cooperation Commission, which will be held on June 7 in Moscow.
However, in the course of the meeting there will be little time to consider problems related to cooperation in the nuclear sphere, as the parties will focus their attention on the gas issue. Some experts suggest that Kiev will try to settle these problems on a political level during the meeting by persuading Russia to review the gas pricing formula, while promising to quickly “move” the nuclear projects. “If the problem is viewed in this context, then the Ukrainian-Chinese memorandum could be considered to be a hint to Russia that there are other partners in the world,” noted Irina Mashek.
Ludwig Litvinsky, a nuclear industry expert, does not see a connection between Ukraine’s cooperation with Russia and China. He believes that Ukraine has much to offer to China, boasting as it does a developed nuclear engineering sector, as well as engineering and consulting services. With China actively developing its nuclear energy sector, it is therefore interested in partnership. As for co-operation with Russia, Litvinsky points out that problems are a part of any normal working process, in which interruptions and temporary difficulties are inevitable. “Each side is trying to defend its national interests and that it normal. But I am confident that all problems will be resolved in the spirit of partnership. In conditions of a limited supply and demand market, this is unavoidable,” he said.
Head of Rosatom, Sergey Kiriyenko, who visited Kiev in late April, confirmed in an interview with Economic Truth that problems do arise, but are quickly resolved, and expressed readiness to expand partnerships with Ukraine in all fields of the industry.
Irina Mashek is confident that cooperation at this level with China is practically impossible: “They are strategically aimed at minimizing imports and doing everything independently. They purchase equipment once, and then try to develop the same equipment – roughly speaking – to copy it. It is theoretically possible to agree with Russia about joint development of new technologies. In Kiev, Kiriyenko spoke about a new, absolutely safe, generation of fast-neutron nuclear reactors. Not only can our enterprises get involved in this work, but so could our scientists. But to promote such projects, we need balanced political decisions.”
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