Energy security of any power is ensured by the uninterrupted and reliable operation of various power plants. The attention of these objects is focused not only on specialized technical personnel, but also on the country's top leadership, since both the economic and social level of development of the state, as well as its safe existence, depend on the normal functioning of electric energy sources. In this article, we will get to know Paks, a nuclear power plant located in Hungary.
general information
First of all, we must note that this station is the only one that still operates on Magyar land. Paks (NPP) It is 100 kilometers from the capital of the country and only 5 kilometers from the city of the same name, whose population is about twenty thousand people. The industrial giant was built according to the project of Soviet engineers, and all of its currently functioning reactors are completely of the same type - VVER-440.
Historical reference
Paks (NPP) began its “life” in August 1974, which is already quite distant from us. It was then that the builders began the construction of the first stage, which included two energy blocks. Nine years later - in October 1983 - the first block began its work, and a year later the second block was launched.
The construction of the second phase started in 1979, and already in 1986, unit number three was commissioned. November 1987 was marked by the connection to the network of block No. 4.
In general, it will be correct to say that Paks (NPP) was the construction site, which brought together more than 110 of the most diverse organizations and enterprises. Moreover, they were all international. Leading experts from countries such as Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary were involved in delivering equipment, directly building, carrying out a huge amount of commissioning and installation supervision. Thanks to the efforts of all involved professionals, the Paks NPP has been recognized by the IAEA as one of the best stations of this type on the entire European continent.
Technical indicators
Paks NPP (Hungary) So far, it has four power units, each of which has a capacity of 500 MW. The amount of electric energy produced by this station is about 40% of the total volume available in the country.
Each of the blocks consists of the following main nodes:
- A water-to-water power reactor that runs on thermal neutrons.
- Six steam generators producing up to 450 tons per hour of saturated, dry steam under a pressure of 4.7 MPa.
- Six circulation pumps, the main task of which is to ensure the continuous movement of the coolant.
- Twelve main shut-off valves, disconnecting hinges if necessary.
- Two turbine units that directly transform heat energy into electricity.
Reconstruction and modernization
At the end of 2014 between the state corporation Rosatom and the Paks NPP in Hungary A contract was signed for the construction and commissioning of new units. According to the information voiced, the total amount of planned investments in this event will be no more than 12.5 billion euros. A few months before the completion of this document, an agreement was drawn up between Russia and Hungary, on the basis of which the Russian Federation pledged to provide 10 billion euros to complete the station as a loan. Direct construction of power units No. 5 and No. 6 will begin in 2018. According to the existing plan, the fifth unit will be put into operation in 2023, and the sixth - two years later. The capacity of each of the new energy sources will be 1,200 MW.
Deal details
So, Hungary must start repaying the received loan six months after the units were put into operation. Full repayment of the loan is necessary after 21 years. At the same time, the first eleven years of payments, the loan rate will not exceed 4%. After that, there will be two increases: first to 4.5%, and later to 4.9%.
Switching to a 15-month duty cycle
At the end of 2015, Hungary's nuclear supervision granted permission to the described plant for the use of fuel, the enrichment level of which will already be 4.7%, and not 4.2%, as it was before. Thanks to this, all four blocks of the energy enterprise will operate in a new cycle of 15 months.
Emergency situations
Obviously, it is not worth further explaining how dangerous the Paks NPP is. The accident on it, unfortunately, was nevertheless inevitable. On April 10, 2003, at the time of the planned repair and restoration work, an episode occurred on the second block, which ultimately required more than three years to eliminate the consequences. The essence of the incident boiled down to the fact that the shell of the fuel assemblies was damaged during the chemical cleaning in a tank specially mounted for this purpose. The work was carried out taking into account the developed technology of AREVA. Fortunately, beyond the limits of the industrial zone of the station, no excess of the permissible pollution value was recorded. Based on the international nuclear event scale, the incident was given a third level.
Disputes and discussions
Project Paks-2 NPP became a serious stumbling block between the European Union and the Hungarian government. As the press previously reported, the European Commission conducted an in-depth investigation of the state support project to reliably ensure the construction of two new blocks at the station. As the Minister of the Hungarian Government Janos Lazar stated in the end, all questions and details on this issue were settled and obstacles were overcome. According to him, Hungary has taken into account the comments of its European partners and is doing everything to ensure that the interests of all parties involved in the project are taken into account as much as possible.
By the way, Hungarian experts in the field of ecology also tried in every possible way to impede the implementation of the agreement on the construction of modern blocks. In their opinion, the planned introduction of high capacities will have an extremely negative impact on the country's economy, since the electricity produced in this way will be too expensive and will significantly increase the degree of Hungarian dependence on the Russian Federation, thereby undermining sovereignty.
Scandal
Hungarian Secretary of State Zoltan Kovacs said that information published by the British newspaper Financial Times about allegedly blocking the EU contract between Russia and Hungary on the construction of new units at Paks NPP, is incorrect and does not correspond to the real state of affairs. Moreover, this civil servant demanded that the popular print publication of Misty Albion print a refutation.
Additional evidence of how much attention is still focused on the Paks NPP, the photo of which is posted in the article, can be seen from the impudent theft of the station director’s laptop. This portable personal computer contained classified corporate information regarding the planned modernization of the nuclear facility. The head of the enterprise lost his digital assistant at the moment when he went to a business meeting in the center of Budapest and left the car for a while, leaving his personal belongings inside.
Also, the degree of value of the contract for the construction of blocks for Hungary can also be estimated by such a criterion: the state parliament voted by majority vote to declare secret some aspects of the deal with Russia on the construction of a new pair of blocks for thirty years. According to the parliamentarians, this step was dictated in order to reliably protect the national interests and security of the country.
Experience exchange
In the summer of 2015, members of the government delegation led by the director of the Paks nuclear energy enterprise visited the Atomexpo Moscow forum, and more specifically, the stand of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant. Such a visit was understandable, because the construction of the facility in Belarus is similar to that planned in Hungary.