2 Feb (NucNet): The Rostov-4 nuclear unit near Volgodonsk in southern Russia was connected to the national grid and produced electricity for the first time on 1 February 2018, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said in a statement.
A ceremony, attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin and Rosatom’s director-general Alexey Likhachev, saw the formal start of the process of bringing the reactor unit to full design capacity, the statement said.
Construction of Rostov-4, a 1,011-MW VVER-1000/320 unit, began in June 2010. First criticality was reached on 29 December 2017.
There are three other units of the same design in commercial operation at Rostov.
Rosatom said the startup of Rostov-4 is expected to improve the security of energy supply in Russia’s southern regions.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Russia has 35 nuclear units in commercial operation and seven, including Rostov-4, under construction. In 2016 nuclear energy’s share of electricity production was 17.14%.
Mr Putin said in a statement on 1 February 2018 that nuclear’s share of production had increased to 19% in 2017 and that Russia is exporting nuclear plants to 12 countries.
