The construction team has erected the first four columns of the 1st power block’s cooling tower base. All in all, 100 reinforced concrete columns will be installed circumferentially around the tower’s base. They will bear the load from the stack’s concrete covering.

Currently, it takes between 7 and 10 hours to install one column that is 13.6 meters tall and weighs 20 tons. The process of installing a column calls for pinpoint precision as all angles have to be followed.

‘When working on the Kurks NPP-2 cooling tower, we took into account the expertise accumulated at the construction of other NPPs, which helped us to increase the heat removal capacity by around 22%. This will help us run the NPP even during summer heat without compromising on the energy output’, Alexey Volnov, the chief engineer of the Kursk NPP-2, noted.

The one hundred columns are to be fully installed by early October. Once the shell columns are in place, the team will start working on the lower cast-in place reinforcing belt.

The Kursk NPP-2 cooling tower will be the tallest one in Russia, with its height being 179 meters.