Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

Balakovo nuclear power station (Russian: Балаковская АЭС, romanized: Balakovskaya AES [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; a fifth unit is still under construction. Owner and operator of the nuclear power station is Rosenergoatom.

Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
Country	Russia
Coordinates	52°5′28″N 47°57′19″E
Status	Operational
Construction began	December 1, 1980
Commission date	May 23, 1986
Owner(s)	Rosenergoatom
Operator(s)	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

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.^[1]

Reactor data

The Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant has four operating units:

Unit[2]	Reactor type	Net capacity	Gross capacity	Construction started	Electricity grid	Commercial operation	Shutdown
Balakovo-1	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1980-12-01	1985-12-28	1986-05-23	2045 planned
Balakovo-2	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1981-08-01	1987-10-08	1988-01-12	2043 planned[3]
Balakovo-3	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1982-11-01	1988-12-25	1989-04-08	2048 planned[4]
Balakovo-4	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1984-04-01	1993-05-12	1993-12-22	2053 planned
Balakovo-5	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1987-04-01	-	-	Construction suspended 1992-12-28
Balakovo-6	VVER-1000/320	950 MW	1,000 MW	1988-05-01	-	-	Construction suspended 1992-12-28

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.^[5]

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.^[6] This event is cited as one of the predecessors of the Chernobyl disaster.^[7]

See also

• Russia portal
• Energy portal
• Nuclear technology portal

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