RBMK plant could now remain online until 2030
Russia’s nuclear regulator has extended the operating life of Unit 4 at the Leningrad nuclear power station in northwest Russia until 2030, allowing the RBMK-1000 reactor to operate for up to 50 years.
State nuclear corporation Rosatom said Rostechnadzor extended the 925-MW unit’s operating licence after a comprehensive safety review covering equipment condition, documentation, modernisation work and replacement of life-expired components.
Rostechnadzor also issued a licence allowing continued production, transport and storage of radioactive materials at the unit, enabling isotope production until 2030.
Rosatom said the unit produces medical isotopes including molybdenum-99, iodine-125, iodine-131, samarium-153 and lutetium-177, used in diagnosis and treatment, and cobalt-60 used for sterilization,
The Leningrad site, about 100 km west of St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, has four units in operation, two that are permanently shut down, and two under construction.
The operational units are Leningrad-3 and Leningrad-4, Leningrad 2-1 and Leningrad 2-2. Leningrad-1 and Leningrad-2, both Soviet-era RBMK-1000 light-water graphite units, were permanently shut down in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
Leningrad-3, also an RBMK-1000, received a lifetime extension until 2030 in February 2025.
The commercial Leningrad 2-1 and Leningrad 2-2 are of the VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor design.
Rosatom is also building two additional VVER-1200 PWR units at the site. Construction of Leningrad 2-3 began in March 2024 and of Leningrad 2-4 in March 2025.
According to Rosatom, the latest two units are set to replace Leningrad-3 and Leningrad-4 once they retire from commercial operation.
Russia is the only country to still operate the RBMK reactor technology. It has seven such units in its fleet of 36 commercial reactors.
The RBMK is a Soviet-designed, graphite-moderated, water-cooled nuclear reactor featuring individual pressure tubes for fuel and the capability for onload refuelling.
The design was involved in the 1986 Chernobyl accident in Ukraine, but has since undergone significant refurbishment and safety upgrades for all remaining units.
