Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

Balakovo nuclear power station (Russian: Балаковская АЭС, romanized: Balakovskaya AES [pronunciationⓘ]) is located in the city of Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) south-east of Moscow. It consists of four operational reactors; a fifth unit is still under construction. Owner and operator of the nuclear power station is Rosenergoatom.

Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
CountryRussia
Coordinates52°5′28″N 47°57′19″E
StatusOperational
Construction beganDecember 1, 1980
Commission dateMay 23, 1986
Owner(s)
Operator(s)Rosenergoatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor typeVVER
Power generation
Units operational4 x 1,000 MW
Units under const.1 x 1,000 MW
Nameplate capacity4,000 MW
Capacity factor82.9%
Annual net output29,062 GW·h
External links
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Balakovo NPP participates in a twinning program between nuclear power stations in Europe and Russia; since 1990 it has been in partnership with Biblis Nuclear Power Plant.[1]

Reactor data

The Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant has four operating units:

Unit[2] Reactor type Net
capacity		 Gross
capacity		 Construction
started		 Electricity
grid		 Commercial
operation		 Shutdown
Balakovo-1 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1980-12-01 1985-12-28 1986-05-23 2045 planned
Balakovo-2 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1981-08-01 1987-10-08 1988-01-12 2043 planned[3]
Balakovo-3 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1982-11-01 1988-12-25 1989-04-08 2048 planned[4]
Balakovo-4 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1984-04-01 1993-05-12 1993-12-22 2053 planned
Balakovo-5 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1987-04-01 - - Construction suspended 1992-12-28
Balakovo-6 VVER-1000/320 950 MW 1,000 MW 1988-05-01 - - Construction suspended 1992-12-28

In 2018 Rosatom announced it had developed a thermal annealing technique for reactor pressure vessels which ameliorates radiation damage and extends service life by between 15 and 30 years. This had been demonstrated on unit 1.[5]

  • Interior View
    Interior View
  • Steam Turbine Maintenance
    Steam Turbine Maintenance
  • Reactor under Construction
    Reactor under Construction
  • Aerial View
    Aerial View
  • Distribution Station
    Distribution Station
  • Control Room
    Control Room
  • Steam Generator Transport
    Steam Generator Transport
  • Unit 5 Construction
    Unit 5 Construction

Incidents

On 27 June 1985 during startup of the first reactor unit, a human error (later attributed to inexperience and haste) unexpectedly opened a pressurizer relief valve, and 300 °C (572 °F) steam entered the staff work area. Fourteen people were killed.[6] This event is cited as one of the predecessors of the Chernobyl disaster.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Kraftwerk Biblis: WANO-Partnerschaft mit Balakovo jährt sich zum 20. Mal" (in German). RWE. 2010-09-29. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  2. Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA: „Russian Federation: Nuclear Power Reactors“
  3. "Годовой отчёт 2017 с. 73-75" (PDF). rosenergoatom.ru. 24 April 2018.
  4. "Срок эксплуатации энергоблока №3 Балаковской АЭС продлен на 30 лет".
  5. "Rosatom launches annealing technology for VVER-1000 units". World Nuclear News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  6. "Accidents 1980's". nuclearfiles.org. 2009-05-17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  7. Medvedev, Grigory. "The Truth About Chernobyl", I. B, Tauris, London, 1 January 1991, ISBN 1850433313.
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