Rostov NPP

Rostov NPP is one of the largest energy enterprises in the South of Russia, providing over 30% of the annual electricity generation in this region. ^[7] Electricity from the Rostov NPP is supplied to the United Energy System of Southern Russia, which includes 13 regional energy systems - entities of the South and North Caucasus Federal Districts, along seven 500 kV voltage lines and 4 220 kV voltage lines ^[8] . Electricity generation is over 102 million kWh per day. In 2018, nuclear power plants produced 29 billion 369 million 594 thousand kWh. The installed capacity utilization factor (KIUM) amounted to 89.70%. Since the start-up (2001), the power plant has generated over 240.5 billion kWh of electricity. ^[9]

The Rostov NPP is a branch of Rosenergoatom Concern JSC, which is part of the Power Division of the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM and is one of the largest enterprises in the electric power industry of Russia and the only company in Russia that acts as the operating organization (operator) of nuclear power plants. ^[ten]

• 1979 - the project was approved, according to which the station should consist of 4 power units of 1 GW each, construction work began earlier, in 1977.
• 1985 - The construction of the 1st power unit entered its final stage. The intensification of construction demanded an increase in the number of workers and engineers at the site, and the working camps at the nuclear power plant itself and the hostel in Volgodonsk ceased to cope with the influx of people. For this reason, the village of Podgora was created ^[11] .
• 1990 - under the pressure of public opinion, the construction was mothballed, and the readiness of the 1st unit at that time was almost 95%, and the second - about 20%, the station was threatened with a repetition of the fate of the Crimean NPP .
• 1998, April - By the decision of the deputies of the Volgodonsk City Duma, the construction of the Rostov NPP was re-opened.
• 1998 - after two environmental assessments, the design of the station was adjusted (the number of power units was reduced to two).
• 2000, May 10 - Gosatomnadzor of Russia issued a license giving the right to build power unit No. 1 of the Rostov NPP with a VVER-1000 reactor. With a license, the Rostov NPP officially became the nuclear power plant under construction in Russia.
• 2001, March 30 - the first power unit of the station with a VVER-1000 reactor is included in the network.
• 2002 - resumption of construction of power unit No. 2.
• 2005 - a resolution was signed on the construction of the second power unit of the station by 2008. In 2008, the construction completion date and the start date of power unit No. 2 were postponed to the next 2009 year.
• February 2009 - public hearings were held on the construction of power units No. 3 and No. 4 at the Rostov NPP. Launches of new blocks were planned for 2014 and 2016, respectively.
• 2009, June - Rostekhnadzor issued a license for the construction of units No. 3 and 4 of the Rostov NPP.
• 2009 - the full-scale construction of power unit No. 3 was launched.
• December 19, 2009 - the physical launch of power unit No. 2 took place ^[12] .
• March 18, 2010 - the second power unit of the station with a VVER-1000 reactor was included in the unified energy system of Russia.
• 2010, June - the full-scale construction of power unit No. 4 began.
• 2010, December 10 - a permit was signed for putting into commercial operation power unit No. 2 of the Rostov NPP.
• 2014, November 14 - physical start-up of power unit No. 3 took place ^[13] .
• 2014, December 7 - a controlled chain reaction was launched in the reactor of power unit No. 3 ^[14] .
• 2014, December 27 - power unit No. 3 is connected to the Russian energy system ^[15] .
• 2015, June 20 - the reactor vessel for power unit No. 4 arrived at the Rostov NPP ^[16] .
• July 14, 2015 - Unit 3 was brought to full capacity.
• 2015, September 17 - Unit 3 was put into commercial operation ^[17] .
• 2017, December 6 - the physical launch of power unit No. 4 has begun ^[18] .
• 2017, December 29 - a controlled chain reaction was launched in the reactor of power unit No. 4 ^[19] .
• 2018, February 1 - power unit No. 4 is connected to the Russian energy system ^[20] .
• 2018, April 14 - power unit No. 4 was brought to full capacity ^[21] .
• 2018, September 28 - Unit 4 was put into commercial operation ^[22] .

Unit 1

The first unit of the Rostov NPP was put into commercial operation in December 2001. The installed capacity of the 1000 MW power unit (thermal power of 3000 MW) is provided by the VVER-1000 reactor (pressurized water-water power reactor). Since 2009, power unit No. 1 has been operating at a thermal capacity level of 104% (3200 MW).

In the reactor, a controlled nuclear chain fission reaction of U-235 is carried out under the influence of low-energy neutrons, accompanied by the release of energy. The main parts of a nuclear reactor are: the core where nuclear fuel is located; neutron reflector surrounding the core; coolant; chain reaction control system, radiation protection. Fuel is placed in the core in the form of 163 fuel assemblies (fuel assemblies). Each fuel assembly contains 312 fuel elements (fuel elements), which are sealed zirconium tubes. In fuel elements, fuel is in the form of uranium dioxide tablets. The control and protection of a nuclear reactor is carried out by acting on the neutron flux by moving the control rods absorbing neutrons, as well as by changing the concentration of boric acid in the primary coolant.

The thermal circuit of a nuclear power unit contains two circulation circuits:

1. The main circulation circuit (HCC or 1st circuit), consisting of 4 loops. The HCC includes a reactor, main circulation pipelines, steam generators according to the number of loops and main circulation pumps, as well as a pressure compensation system. The fcc is closed, radioactive and is designed to remove heat from the reactor and transfer it to the water of the second circuit.
2. The working fluid circuit (2nd circuit) consists of hot steam pipelines, a turbogenerator with a condensing unit, a deaerator, as well as main condensate and feed water paths, which in turn contain condensate pumps, turbo feed pumps, and a heat recovery system with low and high pressure heaters . The second circuit is designed to generate steam, transfer it to a turbine to generate electricity in a generator. The second circuit is closed, not radioactive.

Unit 2

Work on the completion of power unit No. 2 with a reactor of the same type was resumed in 2002. Large-scale work was launched in 2006. The construction of power unit No. 2 of the Rostov NPP is one of the largest investment projects in the south of the country. At the construction site of the second power unit, more than 7 thousand people were employed.

In 2009, the main construction work on the site of the 2nd power unit was completed. On December 19, 2009, the first cassette with radioactive fuel was loaded into the reactor shaft, and then the power unit No. 2 was physically launched ^[23] . By December 24, 2009, fuel was fully loaded. A total of 163 fuel cartridges were loaded. The second power unit reached a minimally controlled power level in January 2010 ^[24] . On February 24, at the power unit No. 2, in preparation for the energy launch, an operation was performed to reach the planned set of idle revolutions of the turbogenerator rotors, the so-called “turbine push” ^[25] .

On March 18, 2010, Unit 2 of the Rostov NPP was launched at a capacity of 35% of the nominal. At 16 hours 17 minutes Moscow time, the power unit was included in the grid, the electricity generated by the turbogenerator of the 2nd power unit of the station began to flow into the UES of the country. The output of the 2nd power unit at a capacity of 50% of the nominal is planned for May 2010, and adoption for commercial operation is planned for October 2010, after the power unit reaches 100% capacity ^[26] . Since October 2012, tests at a thermal power of 104% began at Unit 2 of the Rostov NPP. Now power unit No. 2 is in pilot industrial operation at a reactor plant capacity of 104% of the nominal. In February 2017 in with. Dubovskoye and the city of Volgodonsk held public discussions of materials justifying the license to carry out activities in the field of atomic energy use "Operation of Unit 2 of the Rostov NPP in the 18-month fuel cycle at a reactor plant capacity of 104% of the nominal" (meaning thermal capacity).

Unit 3

The construction of power unit No. 3 of the Rostov NPP with a 3rd generation reactor is one of the largest investment projects in the south of the country. Work on its construction began in 2009 and was completed in 2014.

On November 14, 2014, the physical launch of the third unit reactor was started ^[27] .

On December 7, 2014, a controlled chain reaction was launched in the reactor, after which it was successfully brought to its minimum power, Rosenergoatom reported ^[14] .

On July 14, 2015, the 3rd power unit was brought to 100% capacity.

September 17, 2015 - Unit 3 was put into commercial operation ^[28] .

In December 2015, the Rostov NPP received permission from Rostekhnadzor to develop a thermal capacity level of 104% of Unit No. 3. The change is an integral part of the terms of the license for the commercial operation of Unit 3.

On January 22 and 24, 2019, in Volgodonsk and the Dubovskiy district, public hearings were held, in which 1,133 people took part on the topic: “Preliminary materials on environmental impact assessment during operation of Rostov NPP Unit 3 in the 18-month fuel cycle at the reactor plant capacity 104% of the nominal with fan cooling towers ” ^{[29] [30]} .

Unit 4

The construction of the 4th power unit began in 2010.

On June 20, 2015, the reactor vessel for power unit No. 4 arrived at the Rostov NPP ^[16] . He was established in a regular position at the end of November 2015 ^[31] .

On December 15, 2015, the first of four PG-1000M steam generators, manufactured by the Volgodonsk branch of AEM Technologies, was shipped. At the end of December 2015, at block No. 4, all four steam generators were installed ^[32] .

On December 28, 2015, at power unit No. 4, one of the key events of the construction of the nuclear power plant took place - supplying voltage for own needs. This allows you to start full-scale commissioning and testing on technological systems and equipment of the unit under construction.

On January 5, 2016, the generator stator was installed in a regular place in the engine room of the power unit No. 4 under construction.

The hot run-in of the reactor started on September 13 and ended on October 16, 2017. ^[33]

On December 6, 2017, the first fuel assemblies were loaded into the reactor of power unit No. 4, thereby starting the physical start-up process ^[18] .

On December 29, 2017 at 16:24 at the power unit No. 4, the operation was completed to bring the reactor installation to a minimum controlled power level. A controlled chain reaction began: standard ionization chambers recorded a neutron flux corresponding to the minimum controlled level ^[34] . On February 1, 2018, the turbine generator of power unit No. 4 was synchronized with the network. The generated electricity began to flow into the country's unified energy system ^[35] .

On April 14, 2018, power unit No. 4 of the Rostov NPP was first brought to full capacity. Within a month, after a set of tests of the power unit equipment at full capacity, the unit will begin to prepare for commercial operation ^[36] .

On September 28, 2018, power unit No. 4 was put into commercial operation ^[37] .

By mid-June 2019, power unit No. 4 was 10 billion kW / h ^[38] .

• Unfinished NPPs of the USSR