Leningrad II unit 1 passes 5 TWh milestone in a single year

The existing Leningrad plant site in Sosnovy Bor has four RBMK-1000 units, while Leningrad II will have four VVER-1200 units. Leningrad 1 was shut down for decommissioning on 21 December last year. Construction on the first unit of Leningrad II began with first concrete being poured in 2008 and work on the second unit followed in April 2010. Concreting of the inner containment structure of the reactor building of the second unit was completed in early February.

"Another important date has been inscribed in the modern history of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant," the plant's director, Vladimir Pereguda, said. "We have generated the first five billion kilowatt-hours of electricity."

The success of a new power unit is measured by having "an excellent project, innovative technologies, the work of thousands of people - the developers, builders, installers, service engineers and, of course, the staff of the Leningrad NPP", he said.

The "significant generation figure" has been achieved, he said, in strict adherence to the safe, reliable and environmentally friendly operation of the new power unit.

This new source of electricity will help the development of northwest Russia and the large investment projects that are being implemented there, Alexander Drozdenko, the head of the region, said.

"Putting into operation the new units of Leningrad II will significantly increase the territory's capabilities in the development of energy-intensive industries, including high-tech industries and projects in the digital economy."

The economic effect of Leningrad II unit 1, in the form of additional taxes to the consolidated budget of the Leningrad Region, will be more than RUB3 billion (USD46 million) each year, Rosatom said. The impact for the residents of Sosnovy Bor is not only employment, but also the low heating cost of RUB388 per gigacalorie, it added.

The unit was synchronised with the network on 9 March 2018 and then passed all the necessary tests at different power levels, from 30% to 100%. In October 2018, it was put into commercial operation and from the start of this year entered the capacity market.

Its "timely start-up" meant the Leningrad NPP exceeded the 2018 electricity generation plan of Rosatom's operator subsidiary Rosenergoatom by 5.05% and made "a significant contribution" to its annual record, Rosatom said. This year, the national target for the Leningrad NPP is 28.3 TWh, which is 2% higher than in 2018. Almost 30% of that target is expected to be met by the new unit, it added.

Located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Saint Petersburg, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, Leningrad NPP is Russia's biggest nuclear power plant in terms of its installed capacity, which is 4200 MWe. It is also the only plant in the country comprising two types of reactor - RBMK-1000 and VVER-1200.

The general designer and general contractor of the Leningrad II project are, respectively, Atomproekt and Titan-2.