Unit 2 of Russia’s Leningrad-II nuclear power plant has been connected to the grid and has begun supplying electricity, nuclear utility Rosenergoatom said on 23 October. The VVER-1200 unit (also known as Leningrad 6) is scheduled for commercial operation in 2021.

“Today, the country received another 1200-megawatt unit and strengthened its credibility as a leading power in the field of nuclear energy," said Rosatom first deputy director general for operations, Alexander Lokshin.

The new unit was tested at a capacity of 240MWe, according to Rosenergoatom director general Andrey Petrov, who said that the next step is trial operation, when the reactor is tested at up to 100% power capacity. "Each stage is accompanied by numerous equipment checks and dynamic operational tests aimed at stimulating shutdown at various power levels," he said.

Leningrad-II-2 previously underwent the power ascension tests designed to assess the readiness of its main equipment and systems to produce both thermal and electric power, as well as a step-by-step increase in thermal capacity from 1% to 35%. At 35% thermal capacity, the turbine generator was connected to the grid and started generating and transmitting electricity to the country’s unified power system.

Leningrad-II 2 will replace the RBMK-1000 reactor at unit 2 of the original Leningrad nuclear power plant, which has operated for 45 years.

Photo: Russia’s Leningrad-II-2 has been connected to the grid (Credit: Rosatom)