Misplaced Pages

Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
Country	Russia
Coordinates	52°5′28″N 47°57′19″E / 52.09111°N 47.95528°E / 52.09111; 47.95528
Status	Operational
Construction began	December 1, 1980
Commission date	May 23, 1986
Owner	Rosenergoatom
Operator	Rosenergoatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	VVER
Power generation
Units operational	4 x 1,000 MW
Units under const.	1 x 1,000 MW
Nameplate capacity	4,000 MW
Capacity factor	82.9%
Annual net output	29,062 GW·h
External links
Website	Official website
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Balakovo nuclear power station (Russian: Балаковская АЭС, romanized: Balakovskaya AES ,"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"pronunciation"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"Ru-\u0411\u0430\u043b\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0430\u0442\u043e\u043c\u043d\u0430\u044f \u044d\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0446\u0438\u044f.ogg"},"classes":}">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; fifth and sixth unit construction cancelled. 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.

Remix fuel tests

Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant is used for experiments with Remix Fuel. In December 2024 the third final 18-month phase of the pilot program has started with the goal to achieve closed nuclear cycle for VVER reactors. A mixture of enriched uranium with recycled uranium and plutonium received from the used nuclear fuel at other VVER reactors is used instead of a standard enriched uranium. After the first 2 stages of 3, fuel elements were inspected and were approved for the 3rd final stage. The 3rd stage should conclude in 2026 when the fuel will be unloaded and further studied. Remix fuel has a lower plutonium content of up to 5% compared with MOX fuel.

Reactor data

The Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant has four operating units:

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.

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 caused an explosion of the turbine and entered the staff work area. Fourteen people were killed. This event is cited as one of the predecessors of the Chernobyl disaster.

See also

• Nuclear power in Russia

References

1. "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.
2. "Final cycle of REMIX nuclear fuel trial under way". World Nuclear News. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
3. Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA: „Russian Federation: Nuclear Power Reactors“
4. "Годовой отчёт 2017 с. 73-75" (PDF). rosenergoatom.ru. 24 April 2018.
5. "Срок эксплуатации энергоблока №3 Балаковской АЭС продлен на 30 лет".
6. "Rosatom launches annealing technology for VVER-1000 units". World Nuclear News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
7. "Accidents 1980's". nuclearfiles.org. 2009-05-17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
8. 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

v t e Nuclear power in Russia
Energy policy of Russia Energy in Russia
Reactors	Active Akademik Lomonosov Balakovo Beloyarsk Bilibino Dimitrovgrad Kalinin Kola Kursk Leningrad Leningrad II Novovoronezh Novovoronezh II Rostov Smolensk BOR-60 Under construction Leningrad II Kursk II BREST-300 MBIR Closed Obninsk Siberian Troitsk ADE-2 Canceled Bashkir Gorky Kaliningrad Krasnodar Primorsk South Ural Tatar (Kama) Tver Volgograd Voronezh Planned Smolensk II BN-1200
Reactor types	Power plant reactors BN-600 BN-800 RBMK EGP-6 VVER VVER-TOI KLT-40S Research, experimental and prototype reactors GT-MHR T-15
Research locations	Kurchatov Institute
Companies	Atomenergomash Atommash Atomstroyexport OKBM Afrikantov OKB Gidropress Rosatom
Category

• Nuclear power stations built in the Soviet Union
• Nuclear power stations in Russia
• Buildings and structures in Saratov Oblast
• Nuclear power stations with reactors under construction
• Radiation accidents and incidents
• Nuclear power stations using VVER reactors
• 1985 in the Soviet Union
• 1985 industrial disasters