Unit 2 at Russia’s Kola nuclear plant was disconnected from the grid on 21 January for an extended outage to prepare for a 15-year operating life extension.
The outrage is expected to last until mid-October “due to the unprecedented amount of work aimed at improving the safety of the station”. In particular, new active and passive safety systems will be installed, the seismic stability of the equipment of the reactor facility will be improved, radiation monitoring systems, control systems and reactor protection systems will be replaced. Diagnostic systems will be upgraded to monitor the status of equipment important to safety.
“In 2018, we performed a similar set of work to improve safety at unit 1, extending its service life until 2033,” said Kola NPP Director Vasily Omelchuk. “This year we will extend the life of unit 2 until 2034. This is an important task to ensure the energy security of the Murmansk region, which I pivotal for the development of the Arctic. After completion of the work, the region will have guaranteed electricity for at least another 15 years and will retain its energy potential,” he noted.
During the repair campaign, maintenance work will be carried out at all four power units of the station. Between April to August, Kola 3, 4 and 1 will be sequentially closed for repair. Kola NPP, located 200 km south of Murmansk on the shore of Lake Imandra, produces about 60% of the electricity of the Murmansk region. It comprises four VVER-440 reactors.
Photo: The four-unit Kola nuclear plant is undergoing life extension work (Credit: Rosenergoatom)