The Russia’s most powerful and the world’s first 3+ generation innovative power block of the Novovoronezh NPP has reached 75% of its capacity. Thus, the Novoronezh NPP’s 6th power block has passed to the 2nd sub-stage of its power level deployment at the pilot production phase, which is the final one preceding the block’s delivery into production.

It is important to note that the 6th power block was plugged in on August 5, 2016 (its power launch), so for the subsequent 145 days its capacity has been deployed up to 100% of its designed level. The Novovoronezh NPP received the Rostechnadzor’s approval for 6th power block commissioning early September, which was followed by equipment’s trial runs at different modes with 50% of its capacity.


At the moment, similar trials are carried out at the 6th power block with 75% of its capacity. Planned verifications with load relief are run once each capacity level is attained. The power block operates normally without any deviations from the schedule.

Overall, pilot production is one of the activities related to NPP’s operational launch and is comprises the following sub-stages:

• further deployment of 50% capacity (sub-stage 1);

• 75% capacity deployment (sub-stage 2);

• designed capacity deployment (sub-stage 3 covering the trials at the 90% and 100% capacities);

• the power block’s acceptance trials and its commissioning (sub-stage 4).
  

The pilot production stage comes to an end once the trials at all capacity levels, including the designed one, are successfully completed and once the power block passes the acceptance trials. In December 2016, the 6th power block is expected to be commissioned. Experts believe that this will increase the total capacity of the Novovoronezh NPP by 1.5 times, which in turn will spur the economic development of the Voronezh Region.

The 3+ generation power blocks are being constructed in the USA and in France, too. However, the Russian power block became the first new-generation nuclear power block to reach the pilot production phase.

The Novovoronezh nuclear power plant is a branch of the JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom". The station is located on the bank of the Don River in 42 km to the south of Voronezh. It is the Russia's first nuclear power plant with VVER reactors (water-to-water power reactors of case type with regular water under pressure). Each of five reactors of the station can be a main one – a prototype of serial power reactors: the power unit No. 1 with the VVER-210 reactor, the power unit No. 2 with the VVER-365 reactor, the No. 3, 4 power units with the VVER-440 reactors, the power unit No. 5 with the VVER-1000 reactor. The first power unit was launched in 1964, the second – in 1969, third – in 1971, fourth – 1972, fifth – 1979. There are three power units (power units No.1, 2 were stopped in 1984 and 1990 respectively) in work at the moment.

The new innovative power units with capacity 1200 MW have been constructed at the construction site of the Novovoronezh NPP since 2007.

The up-to-date information on the nuclear environment close to the Russian NOOs and other nuclear objects is available at www.russianatom.ru


Novovoronezh NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.