Rostov Region is the location of the Rostov NPP (Volgodonskaya is its first name). It stands 12 km from the city of Volgodonsk, near the Tsimlyansk reservoir. The first power unit supplies about 1 GWh of electricity to the network. The launch of the next power unit took place in 2010. Now it is smoothly reaching its planned capacity.
Volgodonskaya - the name of the station in the period 2001-2010. After the launch of the second energy block, its name changed to Rostov, but some call it the old way.
Composition and Functioning
Rostov NPP (Volgodonsk) is one of the largest energy facilities in the southern regions of the Russian Federation. It produces about 15% of the electricity in this zone. The Rostov NPP (Volgodonskaya) distributes electricity through 5 power lines with a voltage of 0.5 megavolts in the following directions: Yuzhnaya, Budennovsk, Tikhoretsk, Shakhty and Nevinnomyssk.
The annual generation of electric energy is about 8 billion kWh. Rostov NPP (Volgodonskaya) is a branch of Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC, the sole owner of which is Atomenergoprom Open Joint-Stock Company. This organization combined the money of private investors and the domestic nuclear industry. The company organizes the entire production cycle of this energy sector: the extraction of raw materials, the creation of nuclear power plants and the supply of electricity.
The first power unit
When was its construction completed? Volgodonsk NPP began operating the first power unit at the end of 2001. Its rated capacity is 1 GW and the thermal capacity is 3 GW. It is based on the VVER-1000 reactor. A controlled nuclear chain reaction takes place in it , in which uranium-235 is fissioned by low-energy neutrons. A side effect of the process is the release of large amounts of heat. Reactor Structure:
- The area where the feedstock is located.
- Neutron reflector around the core.
- The heat carrier is water.
- Chain reaction control and management system.
- Radiation protection.
The fuel in the core is represented by 163 fuel assemblies. Each of them includes 312 fuel elements.
The second power unit
They continued to build the second power unit in 2002. The construction pace accelerated in 2006. This power unit was one of the largest investment projects in the southern region of the Russian Federation. Construction work was carried out by over 7 thousand people.
2009 is the time of completion of major construction operations. 12.19.2009 - the date of loading the first portion of uranium fuel into the reactor. The power unit was launched in idle mode. 03/18/2010, at 16:17, he began to supply electricity to the country's unified energy system. At this moment, its power was only 35% of the nominal. Over the course of several months, this indicator was brought up by gradual increases to 100%.
New power units
The construction of the 3rd nuclear power unit was carried out from 2009 to 2014. In November, it was launched at idle. In the summer of 2015, it was brought to rated power, and in the fall it was included in the UES of the Russian Federation. The power unit’s capabilities are planned to be used to cover the power supply deficit in Crimea.
They began to build the fourth power unit in 2010. What is remarkable about the Volgodonsk NPP? The accident at the nuclear power plant happened on November 4, 2014: an emergency shutdown of two power units occurred. Fortunately, the radiation environment remained normal. To prevent similar incidents in the future, the construction of power unit No. 4 is carried out taking into account the existing tragic world experience.
The reactor vessel was installed at the end of 2015. At that time, 4 steam generators were fixed. In January 2016, the generator stator was mounted in the right place in the engine room of the energy block being built. The development of infrastructure is in full swing. When performing all work, the safety and reliability of the power plant is paramount.