The stage of physical start-up of the second power unit has started at the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
Commenting on this event, the first deputy general director of Rosatom for nuclear energy, the president of the engineering division of the state corporation Alexander Lokshin said that the physical start-up of power unit No. 2 can be compared with the formation and start of operation of the "heart" of this structure.
“The most interesting, exciting and crucial period in the construction of a nuclear power unit is its adjustment and commissioning after the end of a huge volume of construction and installation work.
At this stage, cubic meters of concrete, tons of metal structures, kilometers of cables and pipelines turn into a living organism that will function and benefit people for at least 60 years, ”Lokshin said.
The Prime Minister of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, who visited the station, said that the second power unit of the BelNPP would be commissioned by the summer of 2022, which would significantly increase the share of the atom in the energy balance of the republic.
“We are moving according to plan, and by the summer of next year we plan to commission the second power unit.
Thus, the BelNPP will reach its nominal capacity and will generate about 40% of the country's total electricity, ”the press service of the Republican Ministry of Energy quotes Golovchenko.
Earlier, President of the country Alexander Lukashenko called BelNPP the most ambitious and successful Russian-Belarusian project in recent decades.
“This is a clear evidence that Belarusians and Russians have every opportunity to further expand economic, cultural and simply friendly ties,” he stressed.
"Fresh fuel"
On December 21, the collegium of the Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations issued a license to the state enterprise “Belarusian NPP” to start the physical start-up of power unit No. 2. This process consists of several steps.
“The physical start-up is one of the most important stages of the commissioning program for a nuclear power unit, at the beginning of which fuel assemblies (FA) with fresh nuclear fuel are loaded into the reactor core.
Upon completion of the fuel loading, the reactor will be brought to the minimum-controlled power level (up to 1%), - explained in the materials of Rosatom.
- At this stage, for the first time in the history of the power unit, the instruments will record the fission reaction of uranium nuclei, and from that moment the reactor acquires the status of a nuclear power plant.
After confirming the reliability and safety of work at the design parameters, the power start-up phase will begin, during which the unit will be connected to the power grid for the first time. "
BelNPP employees
Flickr
© State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM / Arkady Sukhonin / ASE
According to the press service of the Belarusian Energy Ministry, a total of 163 assemblies will be loaded into the reactor of the second power unit.
Each fuel assembly consists of 312 fuel elements with a diameter of 9 mm and a height of about 4 m. The weight of fuel in one fuel assembly is 571 kg.
The construction of the second power unit of the BelNPP began in April 2014 by employees of the engineering division of Rosatom.
In October 2017, they completed the installation of the dome of the inner containment shell of the reactor building, and in December of the same year - the installation in the design position of the reactor vessel.
2018 and 2019 were spent on the construction of steam generators, hydraulic tanks for the emergency cooling system of the reactor core, concreting of the dome of the outer containment shell of the reactor building and installation of a transport lock.
In 2020, tests of individual safety systems of the BelNPP took place.
This year, Rosatom specialists have loaded simulators of fuel assemblies, completed the manufacture of the reactor, carried out several tests and run-in of the reactor facility.
According to experts, the planned commissioning of the second power unit for commercial operation by the summer of 2022 means the technical possibility of reaching the plant at full capacity.
Recall that the Belarusian nuclear power plant consists of two power units with Russian pressurized water power reactors VVER-1200 with a total capacity of 2,400 MW.
The first block was put into commercial operation in June 2021.
In 2022, with the completion of all procedures, the NPP will be able to generate about 55 million kWh of electricity daily.
On December 20, during a press conference, the Minister of Energy of Belarus Viktor Karankevich clarified that now the first unit of the BelNPP generates 28 million kWh every day, which is 22% of the total electricity production in the republic.
“Since the inclusion of the first power unit in the unified energy system, 5.7 billion kWh of electricity have been generated, which made it possible to replace 1.6 billion cubic meters.
m of natural gas.
This is two and a half times more than the annual electricity consumption by the country's petrochemical complex, ”the minister added.
Installation work at BelNPP
Flickr
© ROSATOM State Corporation / Arkady Sukhonin
The commissioning of two units of the BelNPP will significantly increase the share of the atom in the energy balance of Belarus.
Since Soviet times, gas stations have been the basis of the energy industry in Belarus.
The operation of two units of the nuclear power plant will make it possible to replace 4.5 billion cubic meters of blue fuel annually.
Also, according to experts, after the BelNPP is put into operation, greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by more than 10 million tons per year.
In addition, according to the press service of Rosatom, the BelNPP project is designed to finally eliminate the problem of electricity shortages in Belarus.
In turn, Russia derives commercial benefits from the implementation of the nuclear power plant project.
In general, the foreign business of the state corporation attracts significant revenues to the budget of the Russian Federation and provides orders for hundreds of domestic enterprises.
Analysts believe that the industrial operation of the two power units will allow Belarus both to fully provide its industry with energy and to increase export supplies.
In a commentary on RT, an expert from the National Energy Security Fund, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Russian government, Stanislav Mitrakhovich, said that the BelNPP electricity would most likely go to the Baltic countries and Ukraine, despite the intensity of political disagreements with the official Minsk.
“Deliveries are already going to the Baltics and Ukraine.
Now the work of the BelNPP is acquiring particular importance for Kiev.
From the current data, it follows that the export of electricity to Ukraine was at its maximum last week.
It can be predicted that Ukraine will not survive this winter without large-scale energy imports either from Russia, where it does not want to make purchases, or from Belarus, ”says Mitrakhovich.
The expert expects that BelNPP will become part of the unified energy market of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
Its formation is scheduled to be completed by January 1, 2024.
“This project connects Russia and Belarus even more than before.
Minsk will receive nuclear fuel from Moscow, as well as return the loan it took from it for the construction of the nuclear power plant, ”Mitrakhovich said.
Absolute safety
BelNPP is located a few kilometers from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno region.
The station design meets all IAEA requirements, safety standards, environmental and sanitary-hygienic legislation of Belarus.
This is the first nuclear power plant with the latest generation III + units, built according to Russian technologies abroad.
To date, four power units of this type are operated at the Novovoronezh and Leningradskaya stations.
“The NPP project belongs to the III + generation, the innovative power units of which have improved technical and economic indicators, ensuring absolute safety during operation.
They use the most advanced achievements and developments ", - noted in the materials of" Rosatom ".
Administration of the State Enterprise "Belarusian NPP"
Flickr
© State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM / Arkady Sukhonin / ASE
The main feature of the BelNPP project in the context of reliability is a combination of active and passive safety systems that ensure maximum plant resistance to external and internal influences.
“Each power unit is equipped with a“ melt trap ”- a device for localizing the melt of the core of a nuclear reactor, as well as other passive safety systems capable of operating in a situation of complete power outage without the participation of operators,” explains Rosatom.
In addition, BelNPP is distinguished by improved economic characteristics.
In particular, Russian specialists increased the power of the reactor plant by 20%, and the design service life of the main equipment was doubled - from 30 to 60 years, with the possibility of extending the operation for another 20 years.
Despite the highest technical standards, BelNPP has been repeatedly criticized abroad for its alleged lack of safety.
The main enemy of the nuclear power plant project is Lithuania.
Thus, at the end of November, Vilnius handed a note of protest to a representative of the Belarusian embassy because of the plans to launch power unit No. 2.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry believes that its exploitation "will double the threats to nuclear safety and the environment."
Minsk called Vilnius' accusations unfounded and politicized.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Belarus, Lithuania does not have specific facts about the "insecurity" of the Belarusian NPP, but continues an information campaign against the republic.
In a conversation with RT, Pavel Feldman, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, noted that criticisms were not backed up by real content.
In his opinion, they are largely dictated by dissatisfaction with the large-scale political rapprochement that continues between Minsk and Moscow.
“The BelNPP project is another bridge between the two countries.
Undoubtedly, this circumstance scares the Western states, which would not like to strengthen the alliance between Russia and Belarus.
I think that attacks will intensify, and not only from Lithuania, although the NPP project meets the most stringent international standards, ”Feldman summed up.