One year after the Russian invasion, Ukraine is still planning for new nuclear power plants as it seeks to replace existing units that began operation in the 1980s and will be in service for a maximum of 60 years.

Petro Kotin, president of Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom, said Ukraine’s 15 commercial nuclear plants, the first of which, Rovno-1, began operation in 1981, were designed to operate for 30 years, but upgrades will see them remain online for the maximum 60 years.

“We already need to think about replacing the power units that are currently in operation,” Kotin said. “If the economy needs electricity, then we need to introduce additional power a little faster. Even if the situation is more or less the same with consumption as it is now, the new units will simply be used to replace capacity that will be decommissioned.”