Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant
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The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant () is a decommissioned two-unit RBMK-1500
nuclear power station A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...
in Visaginas Municipality,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. It was named after the nearby city of
Ignalina Ignalina (; ) is a city in eastern Lithuania. It is known as a tourist destination in the Aukštaitija National Park. Ignalina is also famous for the now decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Visaginas. Legend It is said that Ign ...
. Due to the plant's similarities to the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in both reactor design and lack of a robust
containment building A containment building is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of . The containment is ...
, Lithuania agreed to close the plant as part of its agreement of accession to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. Unit 1 was closed in December 2004; Unit 2 in December 2009. The plant accounted for 25% of Lithuania's electricity generating capacity and supplied about 70% of Lithuania's electrical demand. It was closed on 31 December 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new nuclear power plant at the site, but such plans have yet to come to fruition.


Reactors

The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant contained two
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
-designed RBMK-1500
water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...
graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
- moderated channel-type power reactors. After the
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
of April 1986, the reactor was de-rated to 1,360 MW. Each unit of the power plant was equipped with two K-750-65/3000 turbines with 800 MW generators built by the Kharkiv turbine plant ( Turboatom).


History

The Soviet Union intended Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant as a symbol of its technological progress. Preparations for the construction began in 1974. Field work began four years later. Unit 1 came online in December 1983, and was closed on December 31, 2004. Unit 2 came online in August 1987 and was closed on December 31, 2009 at 23:00  EET (21:00  UTC). Originally, Unit 2 was scheduled for launch in 1986, but its commissioning was postponed for a year because of the
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
that year. The construction of Unit 3 started in 1985, but was suspended in 1988 and subsequently cancelled, and its demolition began in 1989. Its dismantling was completed in 2008. The town of Visaginas was built to accommodate Ignalina's workers. About 5,000 people worked at the plant, which produced 70% of the Lithuanian S.S.R's electricity and exported power to elsewhere in the Soviet Union. At the time, the settlements at Visaginas were no more than villages, making it a prominent example of "
greenfield investment In many disciplines, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure. ...
", a situation when a large town or industrial facility is built in an area with little existing infrastructure. Ignalina was sited next to the largest lake in Lithuania, Lake Drūkšiai (part of which lies in neighbouring
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
), which provided the plant's cooling water. The temperature of the lake has risen by about 3 °C (5.4 °F) during the operations of I.N.P.P., causing
eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...
. Ignalina's discharges of
radionuclide A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...
s and
heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals is a controversial and ambiguous term for metallic elements with relatively h ...
have accumulated in lake waters and sediments. Its
spent fuel Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and ...
was placed in CASTOR and CONSTOR storage casks during the 2000s. In 2005, the State Security Department of Lithuania investigated the activities of Vladimir Alganov, who in 1997 had been expelled from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
for
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
, and learned that he had met with the management of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant and at their request obtained a long-term Lithuanian visa in 2002.


Incidents

In December 1983, when Ignalina Unit 1 came online, a design flaw of the RBMK was noticed for the first time. When the graphite-displacer tips on its control rods were inserted into the reactor, they immediately caused a power excursion. Unit 1's control rods did not get stuck; they reached the bottom of the reactor, and the
boron Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...
in the control rods stopped the nuclear reaction. Other nuclear organizations and RBMK plants were informed of the problem, but it was not addressed until after a similar power surge partly caused the 1986
Chernobyl Disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
. The subsequent modifications were tested at Ignalina during 1987 and 1988. According to an Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant press release, on June 6, 2009, at 09:15 EEST (06:15 UTC), the automatic reactor protection system was actuated and Unit 2 was shut down. No radiation was released. Plant officials decided to keep it off-line for thirty days, performing the annual preventive maintenance in June, instead of August 29–September 27 as originally scheduled.


Shutdown

As a condition of entry into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, Lithuania agreed in 1999 to close existing units of the station, citing the Ignalina plant's lack of a
containment building A containment building is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of . The containment is ...
as a high risk. The EU agreed to pay €820 million decommissioning costs and compensation, with payments continuing until 2013. Closure of Ignalina faced fierce opposition from Lithuanians, as it provided income to most local residents. To compensate for this, a project was started to encourage tourism and other small businesses. Others were afraid that the price of electricity would skyrocket or that Lithuania would be left to cope with the extremely high costs of decommissioning the plant and disposing of its
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
. A 2008 referendum proposed extending the operation of Unit 2 until a new plant could be completed as a replacement; the referendum gained 1,155,192 votes for the proposal, but ultimately failed to gain the 50% turnout necessary to be passed. President
Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamku ...
opposed the measure on grounds that continued operation would not respect Lithuania's international commitments. The Lithuanian government forecasts that the electricity price for households will rise by 30% from 2010. Analysts expect that the shutdown could cut Lithuania's
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
growth by 1–1.5%, and increase inflation by 1%. Ignalina's production will be compensated for by production of the
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
Elektrėnai Power Plant The Elektrėnai Power Plant or Elektrėnai Complex () is a gas- and fuel-oil-fired 1,055 MW electricity generating station near Elektrėnai, Lithuania, about west of the capital, Vilnius. It is operated by Ignitis gamyba AB, a subsidiary of I ...
as well as by imports from Russia,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, and
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. The closure may test Lithuanian–Russian relations. Responding to concerns that Lithuania would become more dependent on Russian energy sources that could be withdrawn if relations deteriorate, President Dalia Grybauskaitė issued reassuring statements in late 2009. This has not materialised as in March of 2022 Lithuania has cut off all Russian gas imports. Lithuania imports 70% of its power, mostly from
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and the average price of electricity is among the highest in EU. In 2015, transmission lines connected Lithuania to Sweden (700 MW) and Poland (500 MW).


Decommissioning

Ignalina NPP decommissioning project includes decommissioning of Unit 1 and unit 2 and auxiliary facilities. The process is divided into two phases. The first phase started in 2004 and continued until 2013. The second phase was scheduled for 2014–2029. By 2030, the site of two reactors should be ready for re-use (" brownfield"). On 26 November 2002, Lithuanian government passed a resolution to the effect that the Ignalina NPP Unit 1 is to be decommissioned through immediate dismantling. The choice of method was influenced by economic and social factors,
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
aspects, and decommissioning work experience at other nuclear power plants. Representatives of Ignalina NPP were also in favor of immediate dismantling because in this case prerequisites would be created for improving
employment rate Employment-to-population ratio, also called the employment rate, is a statistical ratio that measures the proportion of a country's working age population (statistics are often given for ages 15 to 64) that is employed. This includes people that ...
. One of the decommissioning priorities is in-house approach – to perform as many works as possible with own personnel. Unloading of used fuel from the unit 2 began on 1 February 2011.


Financing

The decommissioning program was financed by the European Union, the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, and the SE Ignalina NPP National Decommissioning Fund. About 95% of the funds were provided by the international community, while 5% was provided by the Lithuanian state. In 2001 the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund was established, administered by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Participants in this fund are the EBRD, the European Commission, and 15 donor countries. Strategic energy projects financed by the European Union included construction of the new unit at the
Elektrėnai Power Plant The Elektrėnai Power Plant or Elektrėnai Complex () is a gas- and fuel-oil-fired 1,055 MW electricity generating station near Elektrėnai, Lithuania, about west of the capital, Vilnius. It is operated by Ignitis gamyba AB, a subsidiary of I ...
.


Repository and storage

There will be three different type of storage facilities: for the spent nuclear fuel, nuclear fuel waste and radioactive waste. Most of the facilities will be built by Nukem Technologies, a subsidiary of Atomstroyexport. A contract for construction of a spent fuel facility was given by Nukem Technologies to the Lithuanian construction company Vėtrūna. A near-surface repository for redundant materials and waste is to be built by a consortium led by Areva TA. The repository should be completed by 2017 and it is expected to cost €10 million. '' Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service'' is responsible for transporting storing the radioactive material from the water tanks at Ignalina's units.


Controversies

On 18 May 2010, Lithuanian energy minister Arvydas Sekmokas announced that although 60% of the funds have been spent, no single project has been completed. As of 2011, phase 1 of decommissioning is three to four years behind schedule. According to Osvaldas Čiukšys, the former CEO of the Ignalina plant, Nukem Technologies is going to request an additional €100 million for completing the nuclear waste storage facility. This was opposed by the former vice minister of energy and chairman of the board of Ignalina plant Romas Švedas, who unexpectedly resigned on 6 September 2011. There is a dispute between the Government of Lithuania and the EBRD about the administration of the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund. There is also a dispute between the Lithuanian authorities and ''Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service'' over safety of radioactive waste transportation and storage casks. The project faces a financing gap of €1.5 billion for the second phase after 2014.


New power plant

There was discussion during the 1990s and 2000s of building a new nuclear power plant at the same site, forestalling the likelihood of an upcoming power shortage in the region. On February 27, 2006, at a meeting in
Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...
, the Prime Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed a communiqué which invited state-owned energy companies in the three countries to invest in the design and construction of a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania. On June 28, 2007, Lithuania's parliament adopted a law on building a new nuclear power plant, the formal start of the project. On July 30, 2008, the power companies of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland agreed to set up the Visaginas Nuclear Plant Company, which would have been responsible for the construction of the new power plant with a capacity of 3,000–3,200 MW. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy was selected as a strategic investor of the project. Eventually the project was stopped as the 2012 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum results did not provide the mandate.


In popular culture

Due to its visual similarity to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ignalina served as a filming location for the 2019
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
miniseries '' Chernobyl''. The popularity of the series caused tourism to greatly increase. "Tickets to tour the Ignalina plant, priced at 60 euros ($66) each, are booked up months ahead", according to ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''.


See also

* Energy in Lithuania * List of power stations in Lithuania


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Utena County Buildings and structures in Visaginas Former nuclear power stations in Lithuania Nuclear power stations built in the Soviet Union Nuclear power stations using RBMK reactors Nuclear power stations with closed reactors Energy infrastructure closed in the 2000s 2009 disestablishments in Lithuania