Nuclear physics, which arose as a science after the discovery in 1986 of the phenomenon of radioactivity by scientists A. Beckerel and M. Curie, became the basis not only of nuclear weapons, but also of the nuclear industry.
The beginning of nuclear research in Russia
Already in 1910, the Radium Commission was created in St. Petersburg, which included the famous physicists N. N. Beketov, A. P. Karpinsky, V. I. Vernadsky.
The study of the processes of radioactivity with the release of internal energy was carried out at the first stage of the development of nuclear energy in Russia, from 1921 to 1941. Then the possibility of neutron capture by protons was proved, the possibility of a nuclear reaction by fission of uranium nuclei was theoretically justified .
Under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov, employees of the institutes of various departments have already carried out concrete work on the implementation of the chain reaction in uranium fission.
The period of the creation of atomic weapons in the USSR
By 1940, enormous statistical and practical experience had been accumulated, which allowed scientists to offer the country's leadership the technical use of huge intra-atomic energy. In 1941, the first cyclotron was built in Moscow, which made it possible to systematically study the excitation of nuclei by accelerated ions. At the beginning of the war, equipment was transported to Ufa and Kazan, followed by employees.
By 1943, a special laboratory of the atomic nucleus appeared under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov, whose goal was the creation of a nuclear uranium bomb or fuel.
The use of atomic bombs by the United States in August 1945 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki set a precedent for monopoly possession of this country by a superweapon and, accordingly, forced the USSR to accelerate work on creating its own atomic bomb.
The result of organizational measures was the launch of Russia's first uranium-graphite nuclear reactor in the village of Sarov (Gorky Region) in 1946. The first nuclear controlled reaction was carried out at the test reactor F-1.
An industrial plutonium enrichment reactor was built in 1948 in Chelyabinsk. In 1949, a nuclear plutonium charge was tested at a testing ground in Semipalatinsk.
This stage was preparatory in the history of domestic nuclear energy. And already in 1949, design work began on the creation of a nuclear power station.
In 1954, the world's first (demonstration) nuclear installation of relatively low power (5 MW) was launched in Obninsk.
An industrial dual-purpose reactor, where, in addition to generating electricity, weapons-grade plutonium was also produced, was put into operation at the Siberian Chemical Plant in the Tomsk Region (Seversk).
Russian nuclear energy: types of reactors
The nuclear power industry of the USSR was initially oriented towards the use of high power reactors:
- Thermal neutron channel reactor RBMK (high-power channel reactor); the fuel is slightly enriched uranium dioxide (2%), the reaction moderator is graphite, the coolant is boiling water purified from deuterium and tritium (light water).
- A WWER (water-to-water power reactor) using thermal neutrons, enclosed in a casing under pressure, fuel - uranium dioxide with enrichment of 3-5%, moderator - water, it is also a coolant.
- BN-600 - fast neutron reactor, fuel - enriched uranium, coolant - sodium. The world's only industrial reactor of this type. Installed at Beloyarskaya station.
- EGP is a thermal neutron reactor (heterogeneous energy loop), it works only at the Bilibino NPP. It differs in that overheating of the coolant (water) occurs in the reactor itself. It is recognized as unpromising.
In total, in Russia at ten nuclear power plants today 33 power units with a total capacity of more than 2,300 MW are in operation:
- with VVER reactors - 17 units;
- with the RBMK reactors - 11 units;
- with BN reactors - 1 unit;
- with EGP reactors - 4 units.
List of nuclear power plants in Russia and union republics: commissioning period from 1954 to 2001
- 1954, Obninsk, Obninsk, Kaluga region. Appointment - industrial demonstration. Type of reactor - AM-1. Stopped in 2002
- 1958, Siberian, Tomsk-7 (Seversk), Tomsk Region The purpose is the production of weapons-grade plutonium, additional heat and hot water for Seversk and Tomsk. Type of reactors - EI-2, ADE-3, ADE-4, ADE-5. Finally stopped in 2008 by agreement with the United States.
- 1958, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk-27 (Zheleznogorsk). Types of reactors - ADE, ADE-1, ADE-2. Appointment - production of weapons-grade plutonium, heat for the Krasnoyarsk mining and processing plant. The final stop occurred in 2010 by agreement with the United States.
- 1964, Beloyarsk NPP, Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Region Types of reactors - AMB-100, AMB-200, BN-600, BN-800. AMB-100 was stopped in 1983, AMB-200 - in 1990. The current one.
- 1964, Novovoronezh NPP. Type of reactors - VVER, five units. The first and second are stopped. Status - current.
- 1968, Dimitrovograd, Melekess (Dimitrovograd since 1972) of the Ulyanovsk region. The types of research reactors installed are MIR, SM, RBT-6, BOR-60, RBT-10/1, RBT-10/2, VK-50. The BOR-60 and VK-50 reactors generate additional electricity. The stop period is constantly extended. Status is the only station with research reactors. Estimated closure - 2020.
- 1972, Shevchenkovskaya (Mangyshlak), Aktau, Kazakhstan. BN reactor, shut down in 1990.
- 1973, Kola NPP, the city of Polar Dawns of the Murmansk region. Four VVER reactors. Status - current.
- 1973, Leningrad, City Pine forest of the Leningrad region. Four RMBK-1000 reactors (the same as those at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant). Status - current.
- 1974 year. Bilibino NPP, Bilibino, Chukotka Autonomous Region. Types of reactors - AMB (now stopped), BN and four EGP. Acting.
- 1976 year. Kursk, Kurchatov, Kursk region Four RMBK-1000 reactors were installed. Acting.
- 1976 year. Armenian, Metsamor, Armenian SSR. Two VVER units, the first stopped in 1989, the second in operation.
- 1977 year. Chernobyl, Chernobyl, Ukraine. Four RMBK-1000 reactors were installed. The fourth block was destroyed in 1986, the second block was stopped in 1991, the first - in 1996, the third - in 2000.
- 1980 year. Rivne, Kuznetsovsk, Rivne region., Ukraine. Three blocks with VVER reactors. Acting.
- 1982 year. Smolenskaya, Desnogorsk, Smolensk region , two blocks with reactors RMBK-1000. Acting.
- 1982 year. South Ukrainian NPP, Yuzhnoukrainsk, Nikolaev region, Ukraine. Three VVER reactors. Acting.
- 1983 year. Ignalina, city of Visaginas (formerly Ignalina district), Lithuania. Two reactors RMBC. Stopped in 2009 at the request of the European Union (upon entry into the EEC).
- 1984 year. Kalinin NPP, Udomlya, Tver Region Two VVER reactors. Acting.
- 1984 year. Zaporizhzhya, Energodar, Ukraine. Six blocks at the VVER reactor. Acting.
- 1985 year. Balakovo, Balakovo, Saratov region Four VVER reactors. Acting.
- 1987 year. Khmelnitsky, Neteshin, Khmelnitsky region., Ukraine. One VVER reactor. Acting.
- year 2001. Rostov (Volgodonsk), Volgodonsk, Rostov Region By 2014, two units were operating at VVER reactors. Two blocks under construction.
Nuclear power after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
1986 was a fateful year for the industry. The consequences of a man-made disaster were so unexpected for humanity that the closure of many nuclear power plants was a natural impulse. The number of nuclear power plants worldwide has declined. Not only domestic stations, but also foreign ones, being built according to USSR projects, were stopped.
List of Russian nuclear power plants whose construction was mothballed:
- Gorky AST (heating plant);
- Crimean;
- Voronezh AST.
List of nuclear power plants in Russia canceled at the design stage and preparatory earthworks:
- Arkhangelsk;
- Volgograd;
- Far Eastern;
- Ivanovo AST (heating plant);
- Karelian NPP and Karelian-2 NPP;
- Krasnodar.
Abandoned nuclear power plants in Russia: reasons
Finding a construction site on a tectonic fault - this reason was indicated by official sources when preserving the construction of nuclear power plants in Russia. A map of seismically stressed territories of the country isolates the Crimea-Caucasus-Kopetdag zone, Baikal rift, Altai-Sayan, Far Eastern and Amur regions.
From this point of view, the construction of the Crimean station (the readiness of the first block is 80%) was started really unreasonably. The real reason for the conservation of other energy facilities as expensive was the unfavorable situation - the economic crisis in the USSR. At that time, many industrial facilities were mothballed (literally abandoned for plunder), despite the high availability.
Rostov NPP: resumption of construction contrary to public opinion
The construction of the station was started back in 1981. And in 1990, under pressure from the active public, the regional Council decided to preserve the construction site. The readiness of the first block at that time was already 95%, and the second - 47%.
Eight years later, in 1998, the initial design was adjusted, the number of blocks was reduced to two. In May 2000, construction was resumed, and already in May 2001, the first unit was included in the power system. Starting next year, the construction of the second resumed. The final launch was postponed several times, and only in March 2010 it was connected to the Russian energy system.
Rostov NPP: 3 block
In 2009, it was decided to develop the Rostov nuclear power plant with the installation of four more units on the basis of VVER reactors.
Given the current situation, the Rostov NPP should become the electricity supplier to the Crimean peninsula. Unit 3 in December 2014 was connected to the power system of the Russian Federation so far with minimal power. By mid-2015, it is planned to begin its industrial operation (1011 MW), which should reduce the risk of shortages of electricity from Ukraine to Crimea.
Nuclear energy in modern Russia
By the beginning of 2015, all nuclear power plants in Russia (operating and under construction) are branches of Rosenergoatom Concern. Crisis phenomena in the industry with difficulties and losses have been overcome. By the beginning of 2015, 10 nuclear power plants were operating in the Russian Federation, 5 ground stations and one floating station were under construction.
List of Russian NPPs operating at the beginning of 2015:
- Beloyarskaya (the beginning of operation - 1964).
- Novovoronezh NPP (1964).
- Kola NPP (1973).
- Leningrad (1973).
- Bilibino (1974).
- Kursk (1976).
- Smolenskaya (1982).
- Kalinin NPP (1984).
- Balakovskaya (1985).
- Rostov (2001).
Russian NPPs under construction
- Baltic NPP, Neman city, Kaliningrad region. Two units based on VVER-1200 reactors. Construction started in 2012. Start-up - in 2017, reaching full capacity - in 2018.
It is planned that the Baltic NPP will export electricity to European countries: Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia. Electricity sales in the Russian Federation will be carried out through the Lithuanian energy system.
- Beloyarsk NPP-2, Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Region, at the existing site. One unit is based on the BN-800 reactor. The launch originally planned for 2014 was postponed due to shortages from Ukraine due to the political events of 2014.
- Leningrad NPP-2, Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Region. Four-unit station based on VVER-1200 reactors. It will be a substitute for Leningrad NPP (Leningrad). The first block is planned to be introduced in 2015, the next ones in 2017, 2018, 2019. respectively.
- Novovoronezh NPP-2 in the city of Novovoronezh, Voronezh region, not far from the existing one. It will be a substitute, it is planned to build four units, the first on the basis of VVER-1200 reactors, the next - VVER-1300. The start of reaching the design productivity was in 2015 (for the first block).
- Rostov (see above).
World Atomic Energy: A Brief Overview
In the European part of the country, almost all Russian nuclear power plants have been built. A map of the planetary arrangement of nuclear power plants shows the concentration of objects in the following four areas: Europe, the Far East (Japan, China, Korea), the Middle East, and Central America. According to the IAEA, in 2014, about 440 nuclear reactors were operating.
Nuclear plants are concentrated in the following countries:
- in the United States, nuclear power plants generate 836.63 billion kWh / year;
- in France - 439.73 billion kWh / year;
- in Japan - 263.83 billion kWh / year;
- in Russia - 160.04 billion kWh / year;
- in Korea - 142.94 billion kWh / year;
- in Germany - 140.53 billion kWh / year.