The countries contributing to the International Cooperation Account for Chernobyl have announced the allocation of about EUR7 million for the development of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukrainian Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Hrynchuk said on Facebook.
“Canada has announced its plans to transfer EUR 5 million from the fund that was recently closed in Russia. The European Commission is adding EUR 1.7 million to the EUR 5 million that was previously provided. Belgium’s contribution will also be added. “The meeting adopted important decisions, namely the creation of a Project Management Group for more effective implementation of grant agreements, and agreed on the direction of work on dismantling unstable structures of the Shelter,” the Minister said about the results of the meeting of the Assembly of Account Holders organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
She clarified that the depositors’ funds will be used to restore the equipment of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant destroyed and damaged during the Russian occupation.
Hrynchuk reminded that these are not the first contributions to the account. Earlier, Ukraine has already received more than EUR 26 million from 18 contributing countries.
The Minister assured that work on the restoration of the Chornobyl zone will continue. Thus, on June 5, the law of Ukraine on ratification of the Framework Agreement between Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the operation of the International Cooperation Account for Chornobyl came into force. In addition, Ukraine has a wide range of opportunities for partnership in nuclear safety. Plans for 2025 include signing new grant agreements and implementing joint projects.
State Emergency Service needs several days to put out torf fires, which have been left after a fire in Chornobyl exclusion zone and around it, Emergency Minister Mykola Chechotkin told President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a daily selection conference.
As the president’s press service reported, Zelensky receives a report about this every day so that to keep a situation under control.
Being asked by the president when precisely the fire in the exclusion zone is halted, Chechotkin said that there was no fire.
Zelensky was also informed that the day before, after 16.00 p.m. on April 13, the situation worsened due to a heavy wind, so the fire was difficult to control. Therefore, the Emergency Service sent more equipment and personnel to eliminate the fire. The rain in this area helped firefighters cope with the situation faster.
On the whole, yesterday fire brigade made 227 sorties, 500 tons of water were used. The radiation background in the exclusion zone remains normal and does not increase, said Chechotkin.
The Emergency Minister said that simultaneously with extinguishing of the fire in the exclusion zone, firefighters did not allow the fire to be transferred to military ammunition warehouses, Shelter and Vector facilities, the Chornobyl nuclear power distribution station, and spent nuclear fuel storage.
The National Police reported that on the eve near the two fires arsonists were detained, investigative actions are being carried out
“I’m very glad that the Verkhovna Rada yesterday voted to raise fines for arson and forest destruction. This is a quick and correct reaction of the authorities to serious challenges. Previous fines of several thousand hryvnias were too miserable punishment for such serious crimes,” Zelensky emphasized.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed turning the Chornobyl zone into one of the points of economic growth in Ukraine.
“Today I’ve signed a decree that will be the beginning of transformation of the exclusion zone into one of the growth points for new Ukraine,” he said at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where the ceremony of transferring a new safe confinement will take place.
The consortium Enerparc AG-Rodina Energy Group plans to increase the capacity of its solar power plants in the Chornobyl exclusion zone from 1 MW to 100 MW, CEO of Rodina Energy Group Yevgeniy Variagin has said at a press conference in Kyiv. “We have plans to develop this project, to expand it to about 100 MW. And we are working on this with our partners,” he said.
Enerparc AG-Rodina Energy Group has recently officially put into operation a pilot solar station with a capacity of 1 MW near Chornobyl nuclear power plant. As reported, the construction of a pilot solar plant was completed in early 2018, in summer it got a feed-in tariff.
Solar Chornobyl LLC (Kyiv) in 2017 rented part of a concrete platform near the facility “Chornobyl NPP’s second phase switchgear” with an area of 1.7 hectares for the implementation of the solar plant construction project by Enerparc AG-Rodina Energy Group.
