| Nuclear workers decided to enlarge the Kalinin NPP The project for completing the fourth power unit of the Kalinin NPP was recently presented by Minatom to the leadership of the Tver region. This will be a VVER-1000 type unit, 15% of which was already built in the Soviet years. It remains to invest about $800 million, which Rosenergoatom plans to take from the investment component of the electricity tariff. The construction of the power unit is planned to begin in 2005, physical start-up is scheduled for 2010.
The station is currently building a third block, which will be commissioned next year. The fourth - even - block, according to Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Bulat Nigmatulin, will cost less because of this: after all, the costs of building the odd third block already include the costs of constructing the infrastructure for the fourth (blocks are always built in pairs).
For the regions of central Russia, Mr. Nigmatulin noted, the construction of nuclear power plants in the near future is very profitable. Thermal power plants running on gas are concentrated here, and the state has already chosen a strategy to bring its domestic price closer to the export price. Tariffs for electricity generated by nuclear power plants do not depend on the price of organic fuel, therefore, in market conditions, says Mr. Nigmatulin, nuclear energy will be more competitive than traditional energy.
True, in order for central Russia (primarily the Kostroma and Vladimir regions) to receive energy from the new units of the Kalinin NPP, it is necessary to build at least three high-voltage main power lines and four substations. As they say in the Ministry of Atomic Energy, financing for the construction of these facilities is included in the joint investment program of RAO UES of Russia and Rosenergoatom, which was approved by the government. It is also planned to build a power line that will connect the nuclear power plant and the city of Udomlya, in which it is located. After all, now this “nuclear” settlement is energy-deficient, since all the energy from the nuclear power plant passes by it.
Russia will participate in a tender for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. According to ITAR-TASS , Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev announced this. “The chances of winning the tender, in which France and Canada will definitely participate in addition to Russia, are very high,” he noted. The nuclear power plant will be built on the site of the Belene nuclear power plant, mothballed in the 80s. In addition, according to Mr. Rumyantsev, Russia will continue to supply nuclear fuel to the Bulgarian Kozloduy nuclear power plant and is ready to help in its operation. This power plant has four VVER-440 reactors and two VVER-1000 reactors. Touching upon the topic of Russia's construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, Alexander Rumyantsev noted that "the first test launch of the Bushehr power unit is planned to be carried out at the end of 2004 - beginning of 2005." Nikolay GORELOV |
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