The specialists performed one of the most important and crucial operations at the Belarus NPP ( its General Designer and General Contractor being the Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division) at the stage when the unit was prepared for the start of electricity generation, i.e. bringing the turbine unit rotors to the rated idle speed (without connecting to the grid). The moment when the rotors begin to rotate is called a “steam to turbine".
“The turbine unit has been brought up to rated speed in accordance with the test programme. All indicators, including the vibration state, are normal, which enables us to begin to test the turbine at idle speed and the generator before they are connected to the grid”, Vitaly Polyanin, ASE EC JSC Vice President - Director for the Belarus NPP Construction Project summed up the past event.
The beginning of the Belarus NPP Unit 1 start-up was scheduled on August 7, 2020 when the first fuel assembly with fresh fuel was loaded into the reactor pressure vessel. On October 11, 2020 at the stage of physical start-up, the reactor was brought to the minimum controlled power level (less than 1% of the rated power). In total, more than 50 physical measurements were performed during the physical start-up stage, which confirmed that the nuclear and physical characteristics of the reactor comply with design parameters. On October 23, 2020, the State Enterprise Belarus NPP and ASE EC JSC (Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division) received a permission from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus to carry out the works as part of the staged power unit 1 start-up programme.
At present, the unit is undergoing a stage-by-stage power increase up to 40%. In the coming days, a series of tests are to be carried out on the equipment and technological systems, provided for by the power unit commissioning programme. After that, power unit No. 1 will be connected to the grid and begin to supply the first kilowatt-hours to the grid of the Republic of Belarus.
Belarus NPP having two VVER-1200 reactors with the total capacity of 2400 MW is being constructed in Ostrovets (Republic of Belarus). The Russian 3+ generation design that is fully compliant with the international standards and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety recommendations, has been selected for the first NPP in Belarus.
Belarus NPP Unit 1 is the first generation 3+ Unit built abroad based on Russian technologies. Currently, three power Units of the similar type have been successfully operating in Russia, including two units at the Novovoronezh NPP and one unit - at the Leningrad NPP. The fourth generation 3+ power unit - Unit No 6 of Leningrad NPP, was successfully connected to the grid on 22 October. This technology is also selected by such countries as Finland, Hungary, Bangladesh, Turkey and Egypt.
Communications Division
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division
For reference:
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division unites the leading companies of the nuclear industry: ASE EC JSC (Nizhny Novgorod), JSC Atomstroyexport (Moscow), JSC Atomenergoproekt (Moscow) and JSC ATOMPROEKT (Saint-Petersburg) and others.
The Engineering Division is the leader in terms of project portfolio and the number of NPP projects that are constructed abroad simultaneously.
About 80% of the Division's income is accounted for by foreign projects.
The Engineering Division implements design and construction projects for high-power NPPs both in Russia and abroad, it renders a full range of EPC, EPC(M) services including project management and designing and develops Multi-D technologies for management of complex engineering facilities. The Engineering Division is guided by the achievements of the nuclear power industry in Russia and innovative state-of-the-art technologies.
We construct reliable and safe NPPs with III+Gen VVER reactors that are in line with all international requirements and recommendations.