05.12.2017  INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ROSENERGOATOM

Rosenergoatom: two new power units – No 1 of Leningrad NPP-2 and No 4 of Rostov NPP – are ready for start-up operations

Rosenergoatom: two new power units – No 1 of Leningrad NPP-2 and No 4 of Rostov NPP – are ready for start-up operations

The beginning of December was marked for Rosatom’s ‘Electric Energy’ division by a doubly significant event. The Committee of Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostekhnadzor) issued a license for the operation of nuclear facilities of 2 new power units – No 1 of Leningrad NPP-2 and No 4 of Rostov NPP; and thereby confirmed their readiness for physical launch (nuclear fuel loading) this December.

Obtaining a license from Rostekhnadzor means that both power units are fully ready to be put in operation: construction, installation and commissioning works, as well as equipment and technological systems testing are carried out qualitatively and at the level required to initiate the launch.

Earlier, in accordance with the federal norms and regulations in the field of the atomic energy use, the Rostekhnadzor Committee examined the readiness of technological systems and equipment, personnel and operational documents for the physical start-up stage. The power unit went through all the necessary tests: hydrotests, reactor unit’s cold and hot trials, during which all the main equipment of the unit was checked for compliance with the operational and safety requirements, as well as putting the power unit turbine on the turning gear (to check the coincidence of axes and alignment of the turbogenerator gear, and characteristics coincidence with design requirements). Preliminary work was done to ensure the readiness of the mechanical part, electrical equipment, and all supporting systems, including oil systems of the turbine, the generator, etc.

Commenting on the event, the Plant Manager of Leningrad NPP, Vladimir Pereguda, said, “The unit’s operational personnel are trained, certified, and allowed to work independently. I am sure that the new power unit will work reliably and efficiently, and most importantly safely – in full accordance with the project.”

Putting into operation of the newest power unit No 1 of Leningrad NPP-2 with a 3+ generation VVER-1200 reactor will mean that the fleet of such units will expand to two (including the 1st unit of NVNPP-2 put into commercial operation this February). Such units are unique and have no analogues in the world.

The start-up phase will be carried out in stages, and will start from the delivery of the first fuel assembly launch complex with fresh nuclear fuel to the construction site. After the input control procedure, the assemblies will be loaded into the reactor core, initiating the power unit’s physical launch.

The Chief Engineer of Rostov NPP Andrey Gorbunov explained the essence of the upcoming operations, “The program of the physical start-up is designed for 25 days. The program includes the loading of nuclear fuel into the reactor vessel in the form of 163 fuel assemblies and the reactor output to a minimum controllable power level with all necessary measurements. In the start-up process, the core’s characteristics required during the reactor’s operation are determined.”

After completion of the physical start-up phase, the decisive stage of the start-up operations – power start-up – will begin at both power units. At this stage, the specialists will conduct a number of physical tests and experiments to refine the calculated neutron-physical characteristics of the first fuel load and to confirm the reliability of the protections, locks and the entire nuclear-physical control and nuclear safety system of the reactor unit. At the subsequent stages of power start-up and pilot operation, all the equipment of the unit will be subjected to a final test – working at operating parameters.

Rosenergoatom Concern JSC is the leading enterprise of the Electric Energy Division of Rosatom State Corporation, the leader in electric energy generation both in Russia and abroad. It is the largest generating company in Russia and the 2nd largest in the world in terms of the volume of nuclear generating capacity. The Concern includes all 10 Russian nuclear power plants, which grant the status of branches, as well as enterprises that support the activities of the generating company. In total, 35 power units with a total installed capacity of 27.9 GW are operated at 10 Russian nuclear power plants. At present, the nuclear power plants of Russia produce about 18.3% of the total electric energy in the country.


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