Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear power plant in Saratov Oblast, Russia

Rosenergoatom

Operator(s)RosenergoatomNuclear power station Reactor typeVVERPower generation Units operational4 x 1,000 MWUnits under const.1 x 1,000 MWNameplate capacity4,000 MWCapacity factor82.9%Annual net output29,062 GW·hExternal linksWebsiteOfficial website

CommonsRelated media on Commons

[edit on Wikidata]

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 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]

Gallery

Interior View
Steam Turbine Maintenance
Reactor under Construction
Aerial View
Distribution Station
Control Room
Steam Generator Transport
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]

References

^ "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.
^ Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA: „Russian Federation: Nuclear Power Reactors“
^ "Годовой отчёт 2017 с. 73-75" (PDF). rosenergoatom.ru. 24 April 2018.
^ "Срок эксплуатации энергоблока №3 Балаковской АЭС продлен на 30 лет".
^ "Rosatom launches annealing technology for VVER-1000 units". World Nuclear News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
^ "Accidents 1980's". nuclearfiles.org. 2009-05-17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
^ Medvedev, Grigory. "The Truth About Chernobyl", I. B, Tauris, London, 1 January 1991, ISBN 1850433313.

External links

Balakovo NPP site – website in English
Rosenergoatom – website in Russian and English
Bellona Foundation, Balakovo NPP – International environmental organization

Nuclear power in Russia

Reactors

Active	Akademik Lomonosov Balakovo Beloyarsk Bilibino Dimitrovgrad Kalinin Kola Kursk Leningrad Leningrad II Novovoronezh Novovoronezh II Rostov Smolensk
Under construction	Kursk II Seversk
Closed	Obninsk Siberian Troitsk
Canceled	Bashkir Crimean Gorky Kaliningrad Krasnodar Primorsk South Ural Tatar (Kama) Tver Volgograd Voronezh
Planned	Central Kola II Nizhny Novgorod Smolensk II