The first megawatts of electric power have been produced for the Leningrad NPP 6th power block during the complex trials of the block diesel generator unit. In case of an emergency, this safety-critical facility with the total capacity of 6.3 megawatt is going to cater for the electric power needs of the power block to switch it to the safety mode.

‘We are currently testing the diesel generator unit at different capacity levels and verify the operation of the automatic DG load pickup sequencer in case the reliable in-house electric supply systems are fully blacked out’, Alexey Shlenkin, the deputy head of the electric power hall at the Leningrad NPP-2, said. ‘Once the facility got synchronized with the electric grid, the electric power it produces started catering for the power block’s auxiliaries. Following a set of trials, the facility will be switched to the availability duty’.

All five diesel generator units are equipped with autonomous fuel, cooling, lubricating, starting air, heating, ventilation, auxiliary electric power supply systems. In order to facilitate high starting reliability, each comes with a backup launch schema triggered by a signal from the safety control systems. In case the external power supply is off, it will deliver electric power to all major technology systems of the power block.

Switching all five diesel generator units to the availability duty is one of the pre-conditions for the upcoming key milestone, that is, the physical start-up of the VVER-1200 6th power block, which is planned for April 2020.