Step-up transformers and local transformers for unit 1 have begun operation at the Rooppur NPP under construction by Rosatom in Bangladesh.
Step-up transformers convert the voltage generated by the turbo generator (24 kV) into a voltage of 400 kV to supply electricity to the national grid. The transformer can transmit total power of up to 1,599 MWe – more than the 1,200 MWe power unit itself generates. The weight of one transformer is about 400 tonnes and it required more than 150 kilometres of cable to connect it.
Local unit transformers provide power to all internal systems of the power unit. These can operate in two modes: either to receive electricity from an external power system, or to take it directly from the generator during operation of the power unit.
“Connecting transformers is an important step that has become possible due to clear coordination between all project participants,” said Alexey Deriy, Vice President for Projects in Bangladesh at Atomstroyexport. “In difficult logistics and climatic conditions, the team coped perfectly. This is another step towards the safe and reliable commissioning of the power unit.”
In the near future, the Rooppur NPP will undergo hot testing during which various safety modes of NPP operation will be checked, including the discharge of clean steam into the atmosphere. In June, the reactor containment at unit 1 was tested for density and strength.
The Rooppur plant is being built by Rosatom on the eastern bank of the Ganges River in Bangladesh’s Pabna district, about 160 km northwest of Dhaka. It will comprise two VVER-1200 reactors. In November 2011, Russia and Bangladesh signed an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the construction of the NPP and in mid-December 2015, a general contract was signed. Construction began in 2021. Construction of unit 1 began in November 2017 and unit 2 in July 2018. The plant’s design life is 60 years, with the possibility of extending its operating life for another 20 years. Fresh fuel for the units was delivered to the site in the latter part of 2023.
