23.10.2020  INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF LENINGRAD NPP

Leningrad NPP Unit 6 Connected to Grid, Delivers First Electricity to Russian Power System

23th October 2020, Sosnovy Bor, Russia. The Leningrad NPP Unit 6 equipped with Rosatom’s flagship Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor was connected to the grid and reached the power capacity of 240 MW.


“Today, Leningrad NPP Unit 6 was synchronized with the grid for the first time and provided electricity to the Russian unified power system. This is a significant event, both for the power unit itself and for the country. There are two important milestones in the power unit setup process. One is the first bringing the reactor to a critical state at the minimum-controlled power level when it “awakens”. The second, which is even more important is the first connection to the grid, when the power unit begins to perform its function and produce electricity. Today, the country received another 1200 MW unit and strengthened its credibility as a leading power in the field of nuclear energy,” Rosatom First Deputy Director General for Operations Management Alexander Lokshin said.

“The new power unit was connected to the unified power system and tested at a capacity of 240 MW. The next step is trial operation, when the reactor is tested at up to 100% power capacity. Each stage is accompanied by numerous equipment checks and dynamic operational tests aimed at stimulating shutdown at various power levels,” Director General of Rosenergoatom (Rosatom NPP operating subsidiary) Andrey Petrov said.

Before its connection to the grid, the Unit 6 underwent power start-up, which entailed a large number of tests designed to assess readiness of the main equipment and systems to produce both thermal and electric power, as well as a step-by-step increase in thermal capacity from 1% to 35%. Reaching 35% thermal capacity, the turbine generator was connected to the grid and started generating and transmitting electricity to the country’s unified power system.

Following the trial operation, the Unit 6 will be shut down for an additional equipment inspection by a state commission before being put into commercial operation scheduled for 2021.


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Notes to the editor:

About Rosatom
Rosatom is the only company in the world that has the resources and competencies to offer energy solutions across the nuclear supply chain. It possesses a wide range of assets, including those in design, construction, and operation of nuclear power stations, uranium mining, conversion and enrichment, supply of nuclear fuel, decommissioning, spent fuel storage and transportation and safe nuclear waste disposal. Rosatom is also engaged in the production of equipment and isotope products for the needs of nuclear medicine, scientific research, and materials science, as well as capacities for the production of digital and various nuclear and non-nuclear innovative products. The company’s strategy is to develop low-carbon power generation projects, including in the field of wind generation. Today, Rosatom brings together over 300 enterprises and organisations and over 250,000 employees.
About VVER-1200

The VVER-1200 is the flagship of Rosatom’s Generation III+ PWR-type reactor and the world’s only Generation III+ design in serial construction. Currently, there are three VVER-1200-equipped power units successfully operating in Russia. 

The innovative VVER-1200 reactor-equipped Generation III+ power unit has a number of advantages when compared to previous generation reactors (i.e. the VVER-1000): it is 20% more powerful, the number of personnel required to operate it has decreased by 30-40%, and its lifetime has doubled to 60 years with the possibility of a 20-year extension.
The following countries have chosen to adopt this technology: Finland, Hungary, China, Bangladesh, Turkey, Belarus and others. Rosatom’s international order book currently comprises 36 power unit projects at various stages of implementation in 12 countries

The 75th anniversary of the Russian nuclear industry

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Russia’s nuclear industry. Russia has always been a pioneer in the peaceful use of atomic energy. In 1954, Russian scientists launched the first nuclear power station and, today, Rosatom already has three units equipped with the latest III+ generation reactors. Over three quarters of a century,  nuclear units have appeared in many countries thanks to Russia’s nuclear industry, and, today, Rosatom is the leader in terms of the size of its foreign portfolio. Rosatom has the world’s only nuclear icebreaker fleet and the most powerful fast neutron reactor; it also contributes to digitalisation and nuclear medicine.

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