Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is located in the steppe zone on the banks of the Kakhovka Reservoir in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.
ZNPP occupies an important place among nuclear power plants, being the largest in Europe and the ninth largest in the world. It is part of a vast industrial complex with an area of 8 km², which includes six water-cooled power reactors (VVER-1000), as well as three thermal power plants (coal and gas) and the city of Energodar.
Since 1996, the Zaporozhye NPP has been managed by the Energoatom National Nuclear Energy Generating Company.
The decision to build several nuclear power plants in Ukraine, including the ZNPP, was taken by the USSR Council of Ministers in 1978. To ensure the accommodation and work of hundreds of station workers, a “satellite city” Energodar was created, which contributed to the noticeable development of the region. The ZNPP project was approved in 1980.
The first phase of construction included four power units with pressurized water reactors VVER-1000 and a total capacity of 4000 MW. The reactor section of the first power unit was launched on April 1, 1981, and the installation of the reactor began at the end of 1982. The launch of the first power unit took place on November 9, 1984.
Units two, three and four were commissioned in 1985, 1986 and 1987 respectively. Equipment for ZNPP was produced at enterprises in Volgodonsk, St. Petersburg and Kharkov.
The VVER-1000 reactors were manufactured at “Izhora Plants” in Leningrad, steam turbines with a capacity of 1000 MW were produced by the Kharkov Turbine Plant, turbogenerators were manufactured at the Elektrosila plant, and earthquake-resistant refueling machines MPS-1000 were created at the enterprise ” Atommash”.