VVER
Encyclopedia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and now Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, by OKB Gidropress
OKB Gidropress
OKB Gidropress is a Russian state construction office which works on the design, analysis, development, and production of nuclear power plant reactors, most notably the VVER range. OKB stands for experimental design bureau...
. Power output ranges from 440 MWe
MWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
to 1200 MWe with the latest Russian development of the design. VVER power stations are used by Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and the Russian Federation.
History
The earliest VVERs were built before 1970. The VVER-440 Model V230 was the most common design, delivering 440 MWWatt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
of electrical power. The V230 employs six primary coolant
Coolant
A coolant is a fluid which flows through a device to prevent its overheating, transferring the heat produced by the device to other devices that use or dissipate it. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, and chemically inert, neither causing nor...
loops each with a horizontal steam generator
Steam generator (nuclear power)
Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. They are used in pressurized water reactors between the primary and secondary coolant loops....
. A modified version of VVER-440, Model V213, was a product of the first nuclear safety standards
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
adopted by Soviet designers. This model includes added emergency core cooling and auxiliary feedwater
Auxiliary feedwater
Auxiliary feedwater is a backup water supply system found in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants. This system, sometimes known as Emergency feedwater, can be used during shutdowns, including accident conditions, and sometimes during startup. It works by pumping water to the steam...
systems as well as upgraded accident localization systems.
The larger VVER-1000 was developed after 1975 and is a four-loop system housed in a containment
Containment building
A containment building, in its most common usage, is a steel or reinforced concrete structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radiation to a maximum pressure in the range of 60 to 200 psi...
-type structure with a spray steam suppression system. VVER reactor designs have been elaborated to incorporate automatic control, passive safety and containment systems associated with Western third generation
Generation III reactor
A generation III reactor is a development of any of the generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements in design developed during the lifetime of the generation II reactor designs...
nuclear reactors.
The VVER-1200 is the version currently offered for construction, being an evolution of the VVER-1000 with increased power output to about 1200 MWe (gross) and providing additional passive safety features.
Design
The Russian abbreviation VVER stands for water-cooled, water-moderated energy reactor. This describes the pressurised water reactor (PWR) design. The main distinguishing features of the VVER compared to other PWRs are:- Horizontal steam generators
- Hexahedral fuel assemblies
- No bottom penetrations in the pressure vessel
- High-capacity pressurisers providing a large reactor coolant inventory
Reactor fuel rods are fully immersed in water kept at 15 MPa of pressure so that it does not boil at normal (220 to over 300 °C) operating temperatures. Water in the reactor serves both as a coolant and a moderator which is an important safety feature. Should coolant circulation fail the neutron moderation effect of the water diminishes, reducing reaction intensity and compensating for loss of cooling
Loss of coolant
A loss-of-coolant accident is a mode of failure for a nuclear reactor; if not managed effectively, the results of a LOCA could result in reactor core damage...
, a condition known as negative void coefficient
Void coefficient
In nuclear engineering, the void coefficient is a number that can be used to estimate how much the reactivity of a nuclear reactor changes as voids form in the reactor moderator or coolant...
. Later versions of the reactors are encased in massive steel pressure shells. Fuel is low enriched (ca. 2.4–4.4% 235U) uranium dioxide
Uranium dioxide
Uranium dioxide or uranium oxide , also known as urania or uranous oxide, is an oxide of uranium, and is a black, radioactive, crystalline powder that naturally occurs in the mineral uraninite. It is used in nuclear fuel rods in nuclear reactors. A mixture of uranium and plutonium dioxides is used...
(UO2) or equivalent pressed into pellets and assembled into fuel rods.
Intensity of the nuclear reaction is controlled by control rod
Control rod
A control rod is a rod made of chemical elements capable of absorbing many neutrons without fissioning themselves. They are used in nuclear reactors to control the rate of fission of uranium and plutonium...
s that can be inserted into the reactor from above. These rods are made from a neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
absorbing material and depending on depth of insertion hinder the chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
. If there is an emergency, a reactor shutdown
Scram
A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor – though the term has been extended to cover shutdowns of other complex operations, such as server farms and even large model railroads...
can be performed by full insertion of the control rods into the core.
Primary cooling circuit
As stated above, water in the primary circuit is kept under constant pressure to avoid boiling. Since the water transfers all the heat from the core and is irradiated, integrity of this circuit is most crucial.In the circuit four subsystems can be distinguished:
- Reactor: Water flows through fuel rod assemblies and is heated by the nuclear chain reaction.
- Volume compensator: To keep the water under constant but controlled pressure, the volume compensator regulates pressure employing self-regulation of saturated steam-water interface and by means of electrical heating and relief valves.
- Steam Generator: In the steam generator, heat from primary coolant water is used to boil water in the secondary circuit.
- Pump: The pump ensures proper circulation of the water through the circuit.
To ensure safety primary components are redundant.
Secondary circuit and electrical output
The secondary circuit also consists of different subsystems:- Steam Generator: Secondary water is boiled taking heat from the primary circuit. Before entering the turbine remaining water is separatedSteam separatorA Steam separator, sometimes referred to as a moisture separator, is a device for separating water droplets from steam. The simplest type of steam separator is the steam dome on a steam locomotive...
from the steam so that the steam is dry. - Turbine: The expanding steam drives a turbine, which connects to an electrical generator. The turbine is split into high and low pressure sections. To prevent condensation (Water droplets at high speed damage the turbine blades) steam is reheated between these sections. Reactors of the VVER-1000 type deliver 1 GW of electrical power.
- Condenser: The steam is cooled and allowed to condense, shedding waste heat into a cooling circuit.
- Deaerator: Removes gases from the coolant.
- Pump: The circulation pumps are each driven by their own small steam turbine.
To increase efficiency of the process, steam from the turbine is taken to reheat coolant before the deaerator and the steam generator. Water in this circuit is not supposed to be radioactive.
Cooling circuit
The cooling circuit is an open circuit diverting water from an outside reservoir such as a lake or river. Evaporative cooling towers, cooling basins or ponds exhaust waste heat from the generation circuit, releasing it into the environment. In addition to generating electricity most VVERs have a capability to supply heat for residential and industrial use. Operational examples of such systems are the plants at Bohunice and Dukovany.Safety barriers
- Fuel pellets: Radioactive elements are retained within the crystal structure of the fuel pellets.
- Fuel rods: The zircaloy tubes provide a further barrier resistant to heat and high pressure.
- Reactor Shell: A massive steel shell encases the whole fuel assembly hermeticallyHermetic sealA hermetic seal is the quality of being airtight. In common usage, the term often implies being impervious to air or gas. When used technically, it is stated in conjunction with a specific test method and conditions of usage.-Etymology :...
. - Reactor Building: A concrete containment buildingContainment buildingA containment building, in its most common usage, is a steel or reinforced concrete structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radiation to a maximum pressure in the range of 60 to 200 psi...
that encases the whole first circuit is strong enough to resist the pressure surge a breach in the first circuit would cause.
Currently operating Russian VVERs are inherently safer designs than the RBMK
RBMK
RBMK is an initialism for the Russian reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalniy which means "High Power Channel-type Reactor", and describes a class of graphite-moderated nuclear power reactor which was built in the Soviet Union. The RBMK reactor was the type involved in the Chernobyl disaster...
reactors of Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. The Soviet Union opted to construct graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
-moderated
Neutron moderator
In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction involving uranium-235....
RBMK series nuclear reactors without containment structures on grounds of cost as well as the relative ease of re-fueling RBMK reactors. Fuel elements in a RBMK reactor can be replaced while still operational, allowing continued operation and Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
extraction compared to the VVER which needs to be shut down. Many levels of protection and containment have both been proposed and constructed for RBMK and VVER type reactors.
Operational life of VVER 1000
When first built the VVER design was intended to be operational for 35 years. A mid-life major overhaul including a complete replacement of critical parts such as fuel and control rod channels was thought necessary after that. Since RBMKRBMK
RBMK is an initialism for the Russian reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalniy which means "High Power Channel-type Reactor", and describes a class of graphite-moderated nuclear power reactor which was built in the Soviet Union. The RBMK reactor was the type involved in the Chernobyl disaster...
reactors specified a major replacement programme at 35 years designers originally decided this needed to happen in the VVER type as well, although they are of more robust design than the RBMK type. Most of Russia's VVER plants are now reaching and passing the 35 year mark. More recent design studies have allowed for an extension of lifetime up to 50 years with replacement of equipment. New VVERs will be nameplated with the extended lifetime.
In 2010 the oldest VVER-1000, at Novovoronezh
Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant
The Novovoronezh nuclear power station is a nuclear power station close to Novovoronezh in Voronezh Oblast, central Russia. The site was vital to the development of the VVER design; every unit built was essentially a prototype of its design...
, was shut down for modernization to extend its operating life for an additional 30 years; the first to undergo such an operating life extension. The works include the modernization of management, protection and emergency systems, and improvement of security and radiation safety systems.
VVER-1200
The VVER-1200 (or NPP-2006 or AES-2006) is an evolution of the VVER-1000 being offered for domestic and export use. Specifications include a $1,200 per kW electric capital cost, 54 month planned construction time, and expected 50 year lifetime at 90% capacity factor. The VVER 1200 will produce 1,200 MWe of power. Safety features include a containment building and missile shield. It will have full emergency systems that include an emergency core cooling system, emergency backup diesel power supply, advanced refueling machine, computerized reactor control systems, backup feedwater supply and reactor SCRAM system. The nuclear reactor and associated systems will be hosted in one single building and there will be another building for the turbogenerators. The main building will comprise the reactor, refueling machine and diesel backup power supply, steam generators and reactor control systems.If a VVER-1200 experiences a loss of coolant accident or loss of power accident the turbogenerators 'coast down' for 30 seconds, during which time a shutdown can be initiated using residual power in the system. Further emergency power is available from a backup set of diesel generators kept on standby to maintain cooling flow to the reactor. The reactor design has been refined to optimize fuel efficiency.
The first two units are proposed for Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant II and Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II
Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II
Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II is a Russian nuclear power plant currently under construction and expected to come online in 2012. It is being built on the same site as the present Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant.- History :In 2006,, the Russian government legislated a nuclear expansion plan...
. A standardized design has not been elected. Mainly are more reactors with a VVER-1200/491 like the Leningrad-II-design are firmly planned (Kaliningrad and Nizhny Novgorod NPP) and under construction. The VVER-1200/392M under construction at the Novovoronezh NPP-II is selected for the Seversk, Zentral and South-Urals NPP. A standarized design elected after commercial operation of the first units.
Passive heat removal system
A passive heat removal systemPassive nuclear safety
Passive nuclear safety is a safety feature of a nuclear reactor that does not require operator actions or electronic feedback in order to shut down safely in the event of a particular type of emergency...
has been added to the existing active systems in the AES-92 version of the VVER-1000 used for the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station currently under construction in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
in India. This has been retained for the newer VVER-1200 and future designs. The system is based on a cooling system and water tanks built on top of the containment dome. The passive systems all safety functions for 24 hours, and core safety for 72 hours.
Future versions
A number of designs for future versions of the VVER have been made:- MIR-1200 (Modernised International Reactor) - designed in conjunction with CzechCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
company ŠKODA JS to satisfy European requirements - VVER-1500 - VVER-1000 with dimensions increased to produce 1500 MWe gross power output, but design shelved in favour of the evolutionary VVER-1200
- VVER-TOIVVER-TOIVVER-TOI or WWER-TOI, is typical optimized informative-advanced project of two Unit NPP based on VVER VVER-TOI or WWER-TOI, (from Russian: Водо-водяной энергетический реактор типовой оптимизированный информатизированный; transliterates as Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reactor Tipovoi...
is aimed at development of typical optimized informative-advanced project of a new generation III+ Power Unit based on VVER technology, which meets a number of target-oriented parameters using modern information and management technologies.
Power plants
As of July 2011, 10 VVER-1000s and 6 VVER-440 were in operation, and 6 VVER-1200s and 3 VVER-1000s were under construction.| Power plant | Country | Reactors | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akkuyu Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant The first nuclear plant of Turkey is planned to be built in Akkuyu, a location within Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. But there are serious objections to the project. The most important objection is that Büyükeceli and the surrounding coastline may lose its touristic potential after the realization of... |
Turkey | (4 × VVER-1200/491) (AES-2006) | Plan in place. |
| Balakovo Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant -External links:* – website in English* – website in Russian and English* – International environmental organization... |
Russia | 4 × VVER-1000/320 (2 × VVER-1000/320) |
Unit 5 and 6 construction suspended. |
| Belene Belene Nuclear Power Plant The Belene Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant currently under construction 3 km from Belene and 11 km from Svishtov in Pleven Province, northern Bulgaria, near the Danube River... |
Bulgaria | (2 × VVER-1000/446) | Planned. |
| Bohunice | Slovakia | 2 × VVER-440/230 2 × VVER-440/213 |
Split in two plants, V-1 and V-2 with two reactors each. VVER-440/230 units decommissioned in 2007. |
| Bushehr Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Iran southeast of the city of Bushehr, between the fishing villages of Halileh and Bandargeh along the Persian Gulf. The plant is located at the junction of three tectonic plates.... |
Iran | 1 × VVER-1000/446 (3 × VVER-1000/446) |
A version of the V-320 adapted to the Bushehr site. Unit 2 and 3 planned, unit 4 cancelled. |
| Dukovany Dukovany Nuclear Power Station The Dukovany Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant near Dukovany, a village in the Czech Republic.It was the first NPP in what is now the Czech Republic and is situated 30 km from the city of Třebíč, near Dalešice Dam, where the NPP sources its water supply... |
Czech Republic | 4 × VVER 440/213 | Now upgraded to 502 MW in 2009-2012. |
| Greifswald Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear power station Greifswald , also known as nuclear power station Lubmin, was the largest nuclear power station in East Germany before closure shortly after the German reunification. The plants were of the VVER-440/V-230 type, which was the first generation of Soviet Union designed plants... |
Germany | 4 × VVER-440/230 1 × VVER-440/213 (3 × VVER-440/213) |
Decomissioned. Unit 6 finished, but never operated. Unit 7 and 8 construction suspended. |
| Kalinin Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant The Kalinin Nuclear Power Station is located about north west of Moscow, in Tver Oblast near the town of Udomlya. Owner and operator of the plant is the state enterprise Rosenergoatom. Kalinin Nuclear Power Station supplies the majority of electricity in the Tver region and additionally serves... |
Russia | 2 × VVER-1000/338 1 × VVER-1000/320 (1 × VVER-1000/320) |
Unit 4 under construction, operational 2011. |
| Khmelnitskiy Khmelnitskiy Nuclear Power Plant The Khmelnitskiy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Netishyn, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. The plant is operated by Energoatom. Two VVER-1000 reactors are operational, each generating 1000 MW of electricity. Construction of the first reactor started in 1981 and the first unit was put in... |
Ukraine | 2 × VVER-1000/320 (2 × VVER-1000/392B) |
Unit 3 and 4 under construction. |
| Kola Kola Nuclear Power Plant The Kola Nuclear Power Plant also known as Kolsk NPP or Kolskaya NPP, is a nuclear power plant in northern Russia.- History :The Phase 1 at the Kola NPP went online in 1973 and 1974, respectively, and are part of Russia’s first generation of PWR reactors . The Phase 2 The Kola Nuclear Power Plant... |
Russia | 2 × VVER-440/230 2 × VVER-440/213 |
|
| Koodankulam Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station currently under construction in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu... |
India | (2 × VVER-1000/412) (AES-92) | Under construction, operational 2008/2009 with four additional units planned. |
| Kozloduy Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated north of Sofia and east of Kozloduy, a town on the Danube river, near the border with Romania. It is the country's only nuclear power plant and the largest in the region... |
Bulgaria | 4 × VVER-440/230 2 × VVER-1000 |
VVER-440/230 units decommissioned 2003-2006. |
| Leningrad II | Russia | 2 × VVER-1200/491 (2 × VVER-1200/491) |
The units are the prototypes of the VVER-1200/491 (AES-2006) and under construction. |
| Loviisa Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant , is a nuclear power plant located close to the Finnish city of Loviisa. It houses two Soviet-designed VVER-440/213 PWR reactors, each with a capacity of 488 MW.... |
Finland | 2 × VVER-440/213 | Western control systems, Totally different containment structures. Later modified for a 488 MW output. |
| Metsamor Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant The Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant , also known as Oktemberyan or Medzamor, was built during the 1970s, about thirty kilometres west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the city of Metsamor. The plant was constructed with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear reactors... |
Armenia | 2 × VVER-440/230 | One reactor was shut down in 1989. |
| Mochovce | Slovakia | 2 × VVER-440/213 (2 × VVER-440/213) |
Units 3 and 4 construction suspended due to lack of funds, planned to be operational in 2012. |
| Novovoronezh Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant The Novovoronezh nuclear power station is a nuclear power station close to Novovoronezh in Voronezh Oblast, central Russia. The site was vital to the development of the VVER design; every unit built was essentially a prototype of its design... |
Russia | 1 x VVER-210 (V-1) 1 x VVER-365 (V-3) 2 × VVER-440/179 1 × VVER-1000/187 |
All units are prototypes. Unit 1 and 2 shutdown. Unit 3 modernised in 2002. |
| Novovoronezh II Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II is a Russian nuclear power plant currently under construction and expected to come online in 2012. It is being built on the same site as the present Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant.- History :In 2006,, the Russian government legislated a nuclear expansion plan... |
Russia | (2 × VVER-1200/392M) (AES-2006) | The units are the prototypes of the VVER-1200/392M (AES-2006) and under construction. |
| Paks Paks Nuclear Power Plant The Paks Nuclear Power Plant , located from Paks, central Hungary, is the first and only operating nuclear power station in Hungary. Altogether, its four reactors produce more than 40 percent of the electrical power generated in the country.-Technical parameters:VVER is the Soviet designation for... |
Hungary | 4 × VVER-440/213 | Two VVER-1000/320 plan was cancelled. |
| Rheinsberg Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Station was the second nuclear reactor in East Germany after the Rossendorf Research Reactor, and the first nuclear power reactor in East Germany. It was built close to the city of Rheinsberg on the Stechlinsee... |
Germany | 1 × VVER-210 | Unit decomissioned |
| Rivne Rivne Nuclear Power Plant The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Kuznetsovsk, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine.It has four reactors: -External links:* *... |
Ukraine | 2 × VVER-440/213 2 × VVER-1000/320 (2 × VVER-1000/320) |
Unit 5 and 6 planning suspended. |
| South Ukraine South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Station , is a nuclear power station in Ukraine.It is located near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv province, approximately south of Kiev. The nuclear power station has three VVER-1000 reactors and a net generation capacity of 2,850 megawatts... |
Ukraine | 1 × VVER-1000/302 1 × VVER-1000/338 1 × VVER-1000/320 (1 × VVER-1000/320) |
unit 4 construction suspended. |
| Stendal Stendal Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear power station Stendal was a nuclear power station under construction in East Germany, near the city Arneburg, Stendal in Bezirk Magdeburg, today Saxony-Anhalt.... |
Germany | (4 × VVER-1000/320) | All 4 units construction cancelled after Germany reunification. |
| Temelin Temelín Nuclear Power Station Temelín Nuclear Power Station is located near Temelín, a small village in the Czech Republic. Temelín NPP is owned by ČEZ Group, which employs 1000 workers at this site. The adjacent castle Vysoký Hrádek serves as an information centre.-History:... |
Czech Republic | 2 × VVER-1000/320 (2 × VVER-1000/320) |
Unit 3 and 4 construction suspended. Now unit 3 and 4 in planning again (operated in 2025). |
| Tianwan Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant Tianwan Nuclear Power Station is a large nuclear power station in Lianyungang prefecture level city, Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is considered to be the largest nuclear plant on mainland China... |
China | 2 × VVER-1000/428 (AES-91) (6 × VVER-1000/428) |
Unit 3 to 8 firmly planned. |
| Volgodonsk Volgodonsk Nuclear Power Plant Rostov Nuclear Power Plant , also known as Volgodonsk Nuclear Power Plant , is a Russian nuclear power plant located on the left bank of the Tsimlyansk reservoir in the lower stream of the Don River near Volgodonsk, Rostov Oblast.... |
Russia | 2 × VVER-1000/320 (2 × VVER-1000/320) |
Unit 3 and 4 is under construction and planned to be operational in 2013 and 2014. |
| Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the third largest in the world.The plant is located in Central Ukraine near the city of Enerhodar, on the banks of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. It has 6 VVER-1000 pressurized light... |
Ukraine | 6 × VVER-1000/320 | Largest nuclear power plant in Europe. |
- See the Wikipedia pages for each facility for sources.
Russia recently installed two nuclear reactors in China at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant
Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant
Tianwan Nuclear Power Station is a large nuclear power station in Lianyungang prefecture level city, Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is considered to be the largest nuclear plant on mainland China...
, and an extension consisting of a further two reactors was just approved. This is the first time the two countries have co-operated on a nuclear power project. The reactors are the VVER 1000 type, which Russia has improved incrementally while retaining the basic design. These VVER 1000 reactors are housed in a confinement shell capable of being hit by an aircraft weighing 20 tonnes and suffering no expected damage. Other important safety features include an emergency core cooling system and core confinement system. Russia delivered initial fuel loads for the Tianwan reactors. China planned to begin indigenous fuel fabrication for the Tianwan plant in 2010, using technology transferred from Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL.
The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant uses many third party parts. While the reactor and turbo-generators are of Russian design, the control room was designed and built by an international consortium. In this way the plant was brought to meet widely recognised safety standards; safety systems were already mostly in place but the previous monitoring of these systems did not meet international safety standards. The new VVER 1000 plant built in China has 94% of its systems automated, meaning the plant can control itself under most situations. Refueling procedures require little human intervention. Five operators are still needed in the control room. The IAEA has referred to the station as the "safest nuclear power plant in the world".
In May 2010 Russia secured an agreement with the Turkish government to build a power plant with four VVER-1200 reactors at Akkuyu
Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant
The first nuclear plant of Turkey is planned to be built in Akkuyu, a location within Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. But there are serious objections to the project. The most important objection is that Büyükeceli and the surrounding coastline may lose its touristic potential after the realization of...
, Turkey. However, due to the accident experienced in Fukushima
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
, anti-nuclear environmentalist groups heavily protested the proposed reactor at Akkuyu.
On 11 October 2011 an agreement was signed to build Belarus’ first nuclear power plant at Ostrovets, using two NPP-2006 reactors with active and passive safety systems. The first unit is planned to be completed by 2017.
External links
- WWER-type reactor plants, OKB GidropressOKB GidropressOKB Gidropress is a Russian state construction office which works on the design, analysis, development, and production of nuclear power plant reactors, most notably the VVER range. OKB stands for experimental design bureau...
- AES-2006 (VVER-1200), Rosatom
- VVER Reactor, Virtual Nuclear Tourist