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The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station (NPS; russian: Белоярская атомная электростанция им. И. В. Курчатова []) was the third of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Zarechny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Zarechny township was created to service the station, which is named after the Beloyarsky District. The closest city is
Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
.


Early reactors

Two earlier reactors were constructed at Beloyarsk: an AMB-100 reactor (operational 1964–1983) and an
AMB-200 reactor The RBMK (russian: реактор большой мощности канальный, РБМК; ''reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalnyy'', "high-power channel-type reactor") is a class of graphite-moderated nuclear power reactor designed and built ...
(operational 1967–1989). Both were supercritical water reactors; the first unit used 67 tons of uranium enriched to 1.8%, while the second unit used 50 tons of uranium enriched to 3.0%. The first unit had an indirect steam cycle, while the second had a direct one. Although they were comparable in power to the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the Soviet planners regarded the Beloyarsk reactors as prototypes. Their main novelty was the use of superheated steam ran through a standard turbine thus resulting in a better efficiency compared to the earlier
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant (russian: Обнинская АЭС, Obninskaja AES; ) was built in the "Science City" of Obninsk, The second unit, which used two turbines, had a similar conversion efficiency of about 36%.


Later reactors

Two reactors are now in operation: a
BN-600 fast breeder reactor, generating 600  MWe gross and a BN-800 fast breeder reactor, generating 885  MWe gross. The BN-800 is the largest fast neutron power reactor in service in the world. Three turbines are connected to the BN-600 reactor. The BN-600 reactor core is tall and has a diameter of . It has 369
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy b ...
assemblies, each consisting of 127 fuel rods with an enrichment of 17–26% 235U. In comparison, typical enrichment in other Russian reactors is in the range of 3–4% 235U. BN-600 reactors use liquid
sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
as a coolant. The station lacks a containment building. Construction started on the larger BN-800 fast breeder reactor in 1987. Protests halted progress in 1988, but work resumed in 1992 following an order by President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
. Financial difficulties resulted in slow progress. Construction costs have been estimated at 1 trillion
rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...
and the new reactor was expected to be finished in 2012–2015. The BN-600 was originally planned to be decommissioned in 2010 but its lifetime was expected to be extended to cover the gap; it has been operating since 1980. On 27 June 2014, controlled nuclear fission started in the BN-800 fast breeder reactor. The newest reactor helps to close the nuclear fuel cycle and to achieve a fuel cycle without or with less nuclear waste. Russia was, at the date, the only country that operates fast neutron reactors for energy production. However issues detected during low power operation required further fuel development work. On 31 July 2015, the unit again achieved minimum controlled power again, at 0.13% of rated power. Commercial operations are expected to start before the end of 2016, now with a power rating of 789 MWe. In December 2015, Unit 4 was connected to the national grid.


See also

* Nuclear power in Russia


References


Further reading

* For the design of the first two reactors.


External links


Beloyarsk NPP
INSP programme
Beloyarskaya NPP
official site
Beloyarskaya NPP
manufacturer information {{Nuclear power in Russia Nuclear power stations built in the Soviet Union Nuclear power stations in Russia Nuclear power stations with proposed reactors 1964 establishments in Russia Energy infrastructure completed in 1964