Editing Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (section)

{{short description|Decommissioned nuclear power plant in Ukraine}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
| image = File:Chernobyl_NPP_Site_Panorama_with_NSC_Construction_-_June_2013.jpg
| image_caption = View of the plant in 2013. From L to R [[Chernobyl New Safe Confinement|New Safe Confinement]] under construction and reactors 4 to 1.
| name_official = <abbr title="State Specialised Enterprise">SSE</abbr> Chernobyl {{nowr|Nuclear Power Plant}}
| country = [[Ukraine]]
| location = near [[Pripyat]], [[Kyiv Oblast]]
| coordinates = {{coord|51|23|21|N|30|05|58|E|region:UA_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}
| status = Undergoing Decommissioning since 2015
| construction_began = 15 August 1972
| commissioned = {{start date|1977|09|26|df=yes}}
| decommissioned = 1986 (Unit 4)<br />1991 (Unit 2)<br />1996 (Unit 1)<br />2000 (Unit 3)
| np_reactors = 4
| np_reactor_type = [[RBMK-1000]]
| ps_thermal_capacity = 12,800 [[Megawatt|MW]]
| ps_units_operational = 
| ps_units_decommissioned = 1 × {{nowrap|800 MW}}<br />3 × {{nowrap|1000 MW}}
| ps_electrical_capacity = 
| website = {{official website|https://chnpp.gov.ua/en|chnpp.gov.ua}}
}}

The '''Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant'''{{efn|{{Langx|uk|Чорнобильська атомна електростанція|translit=Chornobylska atomna elektrostantsiia}}; {{Langx|ru|Чернобыльская атомная электростанция|translit=Chernobylskaya atomnaya elektrostantsiya}}}} ('''ChNPP''') is a [[nuclear power plant]] undergoing [[Nuclear decommissioning|decommissioning]]. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of [[Pripyat]] in northern [[Ukraine]], {{convert|16.5|km|mi|0|}} northwest of the city of [[Chernobyl]], {{convert|16|km|mi|0|}} from the [[Belarus–Ukraine border]], and about {{convert|100|km|mi|0|}} north of [[Kyiv]]. The plant was cooled by an engineered pond, fed by the [[Pripyat (river)|Pripyat River]] about {{convert|5|km|mi|0|}} northwest from its juncture with the [[Dnieper]] River.

Originally named the '''Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant of V. I. Lenin'''{{efn|{{Langx|uk|Чорнобильська атомна електростанція ім. В.І. Леніна}}<br />{{Langx|ru|Чернобыльская АЭС имени В. И. Ленина}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guides.loc.gov/chernobyl-nuclear-accident/introduction|title=Research Guides: Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl, Ukraine: A Resource Guide: Introduction|first=Matt|last=Young|website=guides.loc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chernobyl.one/lenin-nuclear-power-plant/|title=Chernobyl - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant|date=May 3, 2020|website=Chernobyl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/untold-story-vladimir-lenin-nuclear-power-plant-disaster-190506|title=The Untold Story of the Vladimir Lenin Nuclear Power Plant Disaster|first=Rainer|last=Zitelmann|website=The National Interest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/chernobyl-power-station/|title=Chernobyl Power Station – Subterranea Britannica|website=www.subbrit.org.uk}}</ref><ref>https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/magazines/bulletin/bull22-2/22204763445.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=May 2025}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} after the [[Vladimir Lenin|founding leader]] of the Soviet Union, the plant was commissioned in phases with the four reactors entering commercial operation between 1978 and 1984. In 1986, in what became known as the [[Chernobyl disaster]], reactor No. 4 suffered a catastrophic explosion and meltdown; as a result of this, the power plant is now within a large restricted area known as the [[Chernobyl Exclusion Zone]]. Both the zone and the power plant are administered by the [[Chernobyl Exclusion Zone#Administration|State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management]]. The three other reactors remained operational post-accident maintaining a capacity factor between 60 and 70%. In total, units 1 and 3 had supplied 98 terawatt-hours of electricity each, with unit 2 slightly less at 75 TWh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=575|title=PRIS - Reactor Details|website=pris.iaea.org}}</ref> In 1991, unit 2 was placed into a permanent shutdown state by the plant's operator due to complications resulting from a turbine fire. This was followed by Unit 1 in 1996 and Unit 3 in 2000. Their closures were largely attributed to foreign pressures. In 2013, the plant's operator announced that units 1–3 were fully defueled, and in 2015 entered the decommissioning phase, during which equipment contaminated during the operational period of the power station will be removed. This process is expected to take until 2065 according to the plant's operator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/56391/|title=Chernobyl nuclear power plant site to be cleared by 2065|publisher=Kyiv Post|date=3 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005150746/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/chornobyl-nuclear-power-plant-site-to-be-cleared-b-56391.html|archive-date=October 5, 2012 }}</ref> Although the reactors have all ceased generation, Chernobyl maintains a large workforce as the ongoing decommissioning process requires constant management.<ref name="Chernoby60945666">{{Cite news |date=2022-03-31 |title=Ukraine war: Russian troops leave Chernobyl, Ukraine says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60945666 |access-date=2024-05-22 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

From 24 February to 31 March 2022, Russian troops occupied the plant as part of their [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name="AAUfZWmChernobyl"/><ref name="11648764981Chernobyl"/>