Turbine of first unit of Belarusian nuclear power plant spun up for trial run

MINSK, 30 October (BelTA) – The turbine of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has been spun up for a trial run, the press service of the Belarusian Energy Ministry told BelTA.

According to the source, steam was fed into the turbine while the reactor was operating at 35% of its capacity. The turbine was allowed to run idle while the number of rotations was gradually increased to the design point – 3,000 rotations per minute (rpm).

The turbine spin-up is an important step in preparing the reactor unit for electricity generation.

The turbine unit reached the standard rpm rate in line with the test program. All the parameters are nominal, including vibrations. “It allows us to start idle-run trials of the turbine and the generator before connecting to the power grid,” said ASE Company Vice President and director of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project Vitaly Polyanin.

The series of steps to commission the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant began on 7 August when the first fuel rod array with fresh nuclear fuel was inserted into the reactor. During the physical launch stage the reactor reached minimum controllable power (less than 1% of the designed output) on 11 October. Over 50 physical measurements were taken during the physical launch stage. They confirmed the compliance of the nuclear and physical parameters of the reactor unit with the design parameters. On 23 October the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry authorized the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant and ASE Company (the engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom) to proceed with the gradual reactor power startup of the first unit.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using the Russian design AES-2006 featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. The engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom is the general contractor. Generation III+ reactor units boast improved technical and economic parameters. A unique combination of active and passive safeguards is their main peculiarity. The reactor power startup of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is expected to happen in November 2020.