Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko and General Director of Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Aleksey Likhachev launched the program to reach design capacity for the 2nd Power Unit of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NGS).
The capacity building phase is one of the most important phases in a nuclear power plant commissioning program. The program envisages a gradual increase of the unit's power to the nominal level (100 percent) by turning off the main equipment, including performing dynamic tests in various operating modes and checking the dimming operating mode.
Commissioning is the final stage in the construction of the new NGS power units. At this stage, the conformity of the power unit systems and equipment to the design is verified. The commissioning process encompasses several sequential phases, including pre-commissioning and tuning work, physical commissioning, power commissioning and piloting.
Rosatom General Manager Aleksey Likhachev stated the following on the subject:
“The start of capacity building tests at the reactor plant of Unit 2 can be called the final level in the implementation of the entire construction project of the Belarusian NPP. The first nuclear construction in fraternal Belarus laid the foundation for the further development of Russian-Belarusian interaction both in the energy industry and in new areas of the country's economy, including nuclear medicine and digital technologies, literally raising these areas to a new level.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, said, “Complete commissioning of the second power unit of the plant and bringing both units to nominal capacity will enable us to save 4 to 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas and produce 18-19 billion kWh of electricity. "This is the most important project of the decade for Belarus," he said.
The Belarusian NPP, which has two VVER-2400 reactors with a total capacity of 1200 MW, is located in Ostrovets, Belarus. The Russian III+ Generation design, which fully complies with international standards and the safety requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was chosen for the country's first nuclear power plant, the general design and contractor of which was undertaken by the Engineering Unit of Rosatom.
Rosatom is recognized as a global leader and the only company in the world to carry out full-scale production of nuclear power plants abroad. A total of 80 Russian-designed nuclear power plants have been built around the world, 106 of which are power units equipped with VVER reactors. Currently, Rosatom's international order portfolio includes 11 units equipped with VVER reactors in different stages of construction in 34 countries.
Russia is constantly developing its international trade and economic relations, focusing on cooperation with friendly countries. Despite external restrictions, the implementation of large international projects in the energy sector continues. Rosatom and its businesses take an active role in these studies.