Rosatom State Corporation will soon begin cold and hot commissioning of the first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP, a key stage of pre-commissioning activities before the physical start-up of the reactor, the company's press service reported.
On January 19, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar visited the NPP construction site. During the visit, the parties discussed the current status of the project and the tasks related to the commissioning of the first unit. Officials inspected the main facilities of the start-up complex and visited the unit control room, where the operational shift of the station is already functioning.
According to the state corporation, pre-commissioning and comprehensive testing of all systems are being completed at the facility. Cold and hot commissioning will be the final control stage before start-up. The procedure will test:
- the protection system of the first and second circuits against overpressure;
- the operation of the main circulation pumps;
- the reactor plant protection control system.
This stage is necessary to confirm the reliability and safety of the power unit operation.
Likhachev noted that the project is on the home stretch: connection to the Turkish power system has already been ensured, and this year it is planned to complete all the procedures necessary for the generation of the first electricity under the supervision of regulators from Russia and Turkey.
Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Turkey. It includes four power units with VVER-1200 reactors (generation 3+), each with a capacity of 1200 MW. The project is being implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model, the first in the world practice of nuclear energy, in which the investor not only builds, but also owns and operates the station.
Work continues on all four units and auxiliary infrastructure at the site. In total, the project provides for the construction of 560 buildings and structures.
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