First power at unit 1 of Russia's Novovoronezh NPP Phase Two (NNPP-II), also referred to as unit 6 of Novovoronezh NPP, is planned for the second half of June, according to Novovoronezh plant manager Vladimir Povarov. "The next stage then will be power build-up and in December a permit will be obtained from [regulator] Rostechnadzor to put the unit into commercial operation," he told a conference on "Safety, Efficiency and Economy of Nuclear Power" (ISTC-2016) in Moscow on 25 May. The VVER-1200 reactor of at NNPP-II unit 1 achieved first criticality on 20 May. Commissioning of the unit is expected before the end of 2016. Construction of the reactor, which is Russia's first Generation-III+ unit, started in June 2008. The VVER 1200/392M pressurised water reactor with a design net capacity of 1,114MWe, will be the reference plant for similar units now under construction in Russia and abroad.
