Nucléaire Russe

[energy_isere]

Third unit at Kursk II gets approval from Rostekhnadzor

Thursday, 6 March 2025

Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has issued a location licence for the proposed third unit at the Kursk II nuclear power plant, allowing preparatory work to begin for construction.



Kursk II will more than replace Kursk NPP's output (Image: Rosatom)

Kursk II is a new nuclear power plant in western Russia, about 60 kilometres (37.5 miles) from the Ukraine border, that will feature four VVER-TOI reactors, the latest version of Russia's large light-water designs. They have upgraded pressure vessels and a higher power rating of 3300 MWt that enables them to generate 1300 MWe gross. Construction of the first unit began in 2018, its polar crane was installed in October 2021 and the reactor vessel was put in place in June 2022. Concreting of the outer dome of the first unit was completed in August 2023. The second unit is also under construction.

The new units will replace the four units at the existing, nearby Kursk nuclear power plant, which are scheduled to have shut by 2031. The first unit was shut down after 45 years of operation in December 2021. The original design life for the four RBMK-1000 reactors at the plant was for 30 years but had been extended by 15 years following life extension programmes.

Kursk NPP Director Alexander Uvakin said: "We have substantiated and proven that the placement of power unit No.3 with a VVER-TOI reactor complies with Russian standards and regulations in the field of nuclear energy use. The project has worked out all aspects of safety in detail ... an analysis of the current and predicted state of the area where the sites will be located allows us to assess all power units of Kursk NPP-2 as environmentally safe."

Alexander Khazin, Advisor to the President of JSC ASE, said: "The presence of a placement licence allows us to begin the preparatory period of construction. Considering that almost the entire territory is located within the existing land allotment of Rosenergoatom, this will help preserve valuable agricultural and forest lands. Also, there are no historical and cultural monuments or specially protected natural sites within its boundaries."

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/arti ... tekhnadzor

[energy_isere]

First concrete poured for Leningrad's eighth unit

Thursday, 20 March 2025

A ceremony has been held to mark first concrete being poured on Thursday for the foundation of the reactor building for unit 4 at the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in Russia.

Leningrad units 1 and 2 - both 1000 MWe RBMK units - shut down in 2018 and 2020, respectively. As the first two of the plant's four RBMK-1000 units shut down, new VVER-1200 units started at the neighbouring Leningrad II plant. The 60-year service life of these fifth and sixth units (also known as Leningrad II-1 and Leningrad II-2) secures power supply until the 2080s. Units 7 and 8 will replace units 3 and 4 as they are shut in the coming years.

Fiirst concrete was poured for unit 7 in March 2024 and marked the start of the main phase of construction of the new power unit, which is expected to generate power for 60 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension.

Unit 8 has now reached the same step a year later. Representatives from Rosatom's VVER-1200-powered plants in Belarus, Egypt and Bangladesh took part in the ceremony via videolink.

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Leningrad units 7 and 8 (or Leningrad II-3 and Leningrad II-4) are planned to be commissioned in 2030 and 2032, respectively.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/arti ... ighth-unit

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 21 mai 2024 viewtopic.php?p=2391419#p2391419

Autorisation de construction pour le réacteur BN-1200 à sodium liquide au site de Beloyarsk. Il va bénéficier de l'expérience des BN-600 et BN-800.

Beloyarsk issued with licence for BN-1200 reactor

29 April 2025

Russia's nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor has given the go-ahead for the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant's planned fifth unit - a fast neutron BN-1200 reactor. Preparatory construction works are expected to start this year.


In June last year JSC Atomenergoproekt and Rosenergoatom - Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom's engineering and power plant operating divisions, respectively - signed a contract to develop design documentation for the construction of the BN-1200 fast sodium reactor.

The sodium-cooled BN-series fast reactor plans are part of Rosatom's project to develop fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle whose mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel will be reprocessed and recycled. In addition to the BN-600 reactor at Beloyarsk unit 3, which began operation in 1980, the 789 MWe BN-800 fast at Beloyarsk unit 4 entered commercial operation in October 2016. This is essentially a demonstration unit for fuel and design features for the larger BN-1200, which will be unit 5 at Beloyarsk.

Rosatom says the service life of the BN-1200 power unit will be at least 60 years. Its design uses technical solutions that have proven themselves in the operation of the BN-600 and BN-800 reactors, but also features innovations. For example, the BN-1200 will have four instead of three loops for the circulation of liquid sodium, like its predecessors; the volume of the in-reactor storage facility will be increased to allow the unloading of fuel assemblies from the reactor directly into the used fuel pool, eliminating the intermediate drum for used assemblies; and the turbine condensers will be cooled using a chimney-type evaporative cooling tower.

The licence was issued after the consideration of a package of documents covering the safety of the power unit and its compliance with technical regulations, federal rules and standards and legislation, Rosatom said.

Atomenergoproekt JSC has also received a positive opinion from the Ministry of Construction's Glavgosexpertiza regarding the technical part of the preparatory period design - a number of surveys were conducted at the construction site which have been recognised as complying with the technical regulations and requirements.

Ivan Sidorov, Director of Beloyarsk NPP, said: "Installation of the prototype serial power unit with BN-1200M reactor at Beloyarsk NPP will make it possible to take another important step towards two-component nuclear power engineering and fully use the ecological and economic advantages of the closed nuclear fuel cycle. The personnel of Beloyarsk NPP has accumulated vast experience in operating the unique BN-600 and BN-800 sodium fast reactors, so it is logical that the prototype BN-1200M will be created here."

Russia's nuclear power plan includes a target date of 2034 for the completion of the construction of Beloyarsk unit 5. The preparatory construction work for the unit is due to start this year, with first concrete scheduled for 2027.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/arti ... nce-issued