Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Chernobyl nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in Ukraine with 6 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Retired | LWGR | RBMK | 800 | 1978 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | LWGR | RBMK | 1,000 | 1979 |
| Unit 3 | Retired | LWGR | RBMK | 1,000 | 1982 |
| Unit 4 | Retired | LWGR | RBMK | 1,000 | 1984 |
| Unit 5 | Cancelled | LWGR | RBMK | 1,000 | - |
| Unit 6 | Cancelled | LWGR | RBMK | 1,000 | - |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 1 Retired
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 800MW |
| Net capacity | 740MW |
| Thermal output | 3,200MWt |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Owner | SE NNEGC "Energoatom"100% |
| Operator | Mintopenergo Of Ukraine |
| Construction start | 1 Mar 1970 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 2 Aug 1977 |
| Grid connection | 26 Sep 1977 |
| Commercial operation | 27 May 1978 |
| Permanent shutdown | 30 Nov 1996 |
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 2 Retired
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,000MW |
| Net capacity | 925MW |
| Thermal output | 3,200MWt |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Owner | SE NNEGC "Energoatom"100% |
| Operator | Mintopenergo Of Ukraine |
| Construction start | 1 Feb 1973 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 17 Nov 1978 |
| Grid connection | 21 Dec 1978 |
| Commercial operation | 28 May 1979 |
| Permanent shutdown | 11 Oct 1991 |
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 3 Retired
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,000MW |
| Net capacity | 925MW |
| Thermal output | 3,200MWt |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Owner | SE NNEGC "Energoatom"100% |
| Operator | Mintopenergo Of Ukraine |
| Construction start | 1 Mar 1976 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 2 Jun 1981 |
| Grid connection | 3 Dec 1981 |
| Commercial operation | 8 Jun 1982 |
| Permanent shutdown | 15 Dec 2000 |
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 4 Retired
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,000MW |
| Net capacity | 925MW |
| Thermal output | 3,200MWt |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Owner | SE NNEGC "Energoatom"100% |
| Operator | Mintopenergo Of Ukraine |
| Construction start | 1 Apr 1979 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 26 Nov 1983 |
| Grid connection | 22 Dec 1983 |
| Commercial operation | 26 Mar 1984 |
| Permanent shutdown | 26 Apr 1986 |
Accident on record: Chernobyl, 1986-04-26, INES level 7, major accident.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 5 Cancelled
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,000MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Cancelled | 1989 |
| Milestones | no dates on record |
|---|
Chernobyl nuclear power plant 6 Cancelled
| Reactor type | Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) |
|---|---|
| Model | RBMK-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,000MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 2–2.6% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Rosatom |
| Cancelled | 1989 |
| Milestones | no dates on record |
|---|
Chernobyl nuclear power plant in context
The 4 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 4.7 to 7.6 years (median 5.8) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1980s is 7.3 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Khmelnitski nuclear power plant (271 km) and Rivne nuclear power plant (292 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 1970 | 1977 | 7.6 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit 2 | 1973 | 1978 | 5.9 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit 3 | 1976 | 1981 | 5.8 | 7.3 (1980s) |
| Unit 4 | 1979 | 1983 | 4.7 | 7.3 (1980s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khmelnitski nuclear power plant | Ukraine | 271 km | 2.0 |
| Rivne nuclear power plant | Ukraine | 292 km | 2.8 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Kyivska, Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.3893, 30.1066 |
| Elevation | about 140 mabove sea level |
| Setting | About 470 km from the sea |
| Region | Eastern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 4 Cancelled: 2 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | SE NNEGC "Energoatom" |
|---|---|
| Operators | Mintopenergo Of Ukraine |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data