One of the most important operations of Power Start-up stage - bringing the turbine unit rotors to the rated idle speed (without connecting to the grid) has been completed successfully at the Belarus NPP (its General Designer and General Contractor being the Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division).
Commissioning is the final and one of the most important stages of construction of new NPP power units. At this stage, compliance of power unit systems and equipment with the design is verified. The process of commissioning consists of several consecutive phases: pre-commissioning and adjustment works, physical start-up, power start-up and pilot operation.
At 2:12 p.m. (Moscow time), trial run of the power unit turbine was performed at 40% of the rated reactor power. After steam supply to the turbine generator and staged increase of its rotation speed to the design value – 3000 rpm (which is comparable to the rotation speed of airplane propeller), the specialists measured thermal and mechanical characteristics and shut down the turbine in accordance with the algorithm of the start-up operation.
“Trial run of the turbine was performed as part of the unit preparation for the start of power generation. There are no comments to the turbine unit operation: all parameters, including vibration behavior, are within normal”, underlined Vitaly Polyanin, ASE JSC Vice President - Director of Belarus NPP Construction Project. “Further on, we have to carry out no-load testing of the turbine to verify operability of the equipment under design parameters”.
The single-source manufacturer of the key nuclear island equipment for Belarus NPP Unit 2 is Atomenergomash JSC (Machine-Building Division of Rosatom State Corporation).
Fuel assemblies are manufactured by Rosatom’s Fuel Division (TVEL JSC) at Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NZHK JSC), the enrichment level varies from 1.3 to 4.4%.
Belarus NPP Unit 1, which became the first nuclear facility of the newest generation III+ built abroad under Russian technologies, was taken over for commercial operation on June 10, 2021. The share of power generated by the unit is about 20% in the annual power balance of the country. Acceptance of Belarus NPP Unit 2 for operation is scheduled for autumn 2023.
Construction of Belarus NPP power units has become the largest energy-related project in the Union State and the basis of Russian-Belorussian interaction, covering the key areas and ensuring energy security of the states. The experience gained in cooperation of relevant agencies from Russia and Belarus allowed us to start developing new activities in various fields of the Republic’s economy, including nuclear medicine, additive and digital technologies, bringing them to a completely new level.
Belarus NPP having two VVER-1200 reactors with the total capacity of 2400 MW is being constructed in Ostrovets (the Republic of Belarus). The Russian Gen III+ design was chosen for the first nuclear power plant in Belarus, which fully complies with the international standards and the safety requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On June 10, 2021, the Belarus NPP Unit 1, the first nuclear facility of the latest III+ generation to be built abroad under the Russian technologies, was taken over for commercial operation.
Rosatom State Corporation is recognized as a global leader and the only company in the world to implement the full-scale production of nuclear power plants abroad. In total, 106 nuclear power facilities of the Russian design have already been constructed worldwide, of which 80 are power units equipped with VVER reactors. Presently, Rosatom international order portfolio includes 34 units equipped with VVER reactors that are being delivered at various stages in 11 countries.
Russia is consistently developing international trade and economic relations, focusing on cooperation with friendly countries. Despite external restrictions, implementation of major international projects in the energy sector is being continued. Rosatom and its enterprises are taking an active part in this work.