Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (Eval Miko/Dreamstime) A consortium of Jacobs, Westinghouse and the Lithuanian Energy Institute has landed a decommissioning contract for Lithuania’s Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP).

The Soviet-designed plant could be the first graphite-moderated reactor plant to be dismantled, which could help in the decommissioning of gas-cooled reactors, which also have graphite cores.

INPP shut down permanently in 2009 following an agreement with the EU. It provided 88% of Latvia’s electricity, and shared similarities with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, including reactor design.

Karen Wiemelt, Jacobs’ energy, security and technology senior vice president, said: “This project, on top of the recently announced contract with Norsk Nukleær Dekommisjonering, has advanced Jacobs’ strategy to grow our decommissioning and regeneration solutions business in continental Europe.

“Our teams based in the UK, France and Slovakia are applying decommissioning skills acquired through work on some of the world’s most complex and challenging nuclear sites including Sellafield and Fukushima.”

It was announced in May 2022 that Jacobs would provide programme and project management services to decommission Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.