Rosenergoatom, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, has announced the shut-down of the 925 MW second unit of the Kursk nuclear power plant, located in western Russia near the Ukrainian border. The RBMK-1000 reactor, which began commercial operations in 1979, came to the end of its service life after having generated 256 TWh, and stopped generating power.
Unit 1 of the Kursk was previously shut down in December 2021. The original design life for the plant’s four RBMK-1000 reactors was for 30 years but had been extended by 15 years following extension programmes. All four units at Kursk are scheduled to be decommissioned by 2031. They are being replaced by four VVER-TOI reactors at the Kursk-II site, which is located next to the original plant. The new reactors possess upgraded pressure vessels and a higher power rating of 1.2 GW net.
In 2022, nuclear represented 11% of Russia’s installed capacity with 29.5 GW and 19% of its power generation with 223 TWh. More than 5 GW of nuclear capacity is currently under construction and over 32 GW under development in the country.
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