Leningrad-1 was permanently shut down after 45 years of service in December 2018 as part of a gradual phaseout of the Leningrad station’s four aged Soviet-era RBMK plants, which began commercial operation from 1974 to 1981. Leningrad-2 was permanently shut down in November 2020.
Leningrad-3 and -4 remain operational, but are scheduled for closure in the coming years.
All four unts are Soviet-designed RBMK (“reaktor bolshoy moshchnosty kanalny” or high-power channel reactor) plants – water-cooled reactors that use graphite as a moderator. They are also known as light-water graphite reactors and are similar to those used at Chernobyl.
In 2021, operators said they had taken a major step in the decommissioning Leningrad-1 by removing all the fuel from its core.
Studies including an assessment of the radiation situation at both units will be carried out by 2024. Mr Pereguda said it is possible the site of the decommissioned units could be used for “industrial purposes”, possibly a data centre, although no final decision has been made.
The four older units are being replaced by two VVER-1200 type plants that have already entered service. Leningrad 2-1 began commercial operation in February 2017 and Leningrad 2-2 in March 2021.
According to state nuclear operator Rosenergoatom, the Leningrad nuclear station covers more than 55% of the energy needs of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
According to Tass, two new VVER-1200 plants – Leningrad 2-3 and 2-4 – could be commissioned at the site in 2030 and 2032, but construction of these units has not yet begun.
Russia has 37 nuclear units in commercial operation with a net capacity of over 27 GW. In 2021 they provided 19.7% of the country’s electricity generation, a slight fall from 20% in 2020.
Russia plans to increase the share of nuclear electricity in its energy mix to 25% by 2045, with 16 new nuclear units in operation by 2035. There are four units with a total net capacity of 3.7 GW under construction: Baltic-1, the Brest-OD-300 demonstration lead-cooled fast reactor plant, Kursk 2-1 and Kursk 2-2.
