Output is being replaced by Akademik Lomonosov floating plant
Russia has shut down Unit 2 of the four-unit Bilibino nuclear power station in the far eastern region of Chukotka as the site begins the final phase of retiring its remaining three 11-MW EGP-6 reactor units, state-owned nuclear operator Rosenergoatom said.
Rosenergoatom said in a statement that Unit 2 was the first of the station’s three operating reactors scheduled to cease electricity generation by the end of 2025.
Unit 3 was scheduled to be disconnected from the grid and cooled down on 11 December. Unit 4 is scheduled to follow on 22 December.
Unit 1 was shut down in 2018 and its spent fuel has already been removed to the onsite storage pool, Rosenergoatom said.
The graphite-moderated EGP-6 units are being replaced by electricity supplied from the 64-MW Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant in Pevek, about 200 km north of BIlibino, which has operated since 2019.
Bilibino plant director Konstantin Kholopov was quoted as saying that preparations for the transition had been under way for several years, including the construction of a replacement energy centre and supporting infrastructure.
According to Rosenergoatom, the decommissioning stage is expected to last about eight years. It will begin once a licence is issued by the federal regulator and will include spent fuel removal, dismantling of equipment and buildings, and management of resulting waste.
Rosenergoatom said most fuel unloading is planned for 2026 and 2027 while full site rehabilitation is not expected before 2054.
The Bilibino nuclear power station is the world’s smallest and most remote commercial nuclear station and has supplied electricity and heat to Russia’s Far East arctic community since the 1970s. Units 1 to 4 started commercial operation between 1974 and 1977.
The four units offered a stable local energy source for settlements and mining operations which could not depend on diesel or coal supplies during winter or severe weather.
The four EGP-6 units are scaled down versions of the Soviet graphite-moderated, water-cooled RBMK reactor design.
Rosenergoatom said the four-unit Bilibino station supplied 11.6 TWh of electricity over its operating lifetime.
