Nuclear power in the Soviet Union

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At its peak in 1982, nuclear power in the Soviet Union accounted for 6.5% of total electricity consumption and the total nuclear capacity installed was 18 GW.[1] However, nuclear power within the Soviet Union declined severely as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster.

History

The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in 2008.

The first nuclear power plant constructed in the world was the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, built near Moscow on June 26, 1954. It was intended as an experiment to determine the capabilities of nuclear power in supplying a commercial grid. At the beginning of its operation, it produced 5 MWe.[2] The power plant proved successful in its experiment and four years later, the Siberian Nuclear Power Station with a 100 MWe capacity was installed and subsequently increased to 600 MWe. Following the development, commercial power stations were constructed in Beloyarsk, Novo-Voronezh, Kola, Leningrad, and Armenia.[3]

In the year 1960, the Soviet Union had a nuclear power capacity of 605 MWe. By 1975, this capacity was increased to 4.7 GW.[3] At this point, the Soviet Union was committed to developing an aggressive nuclear power program. Throughout the 1970s, approximately 10% of electricity powering the Soviet Union came from Nuclear Power Plants and predictions made by Deputy Minister of Power Energy aimed an increase by approximately 400-500% by the year 2000.[4]

All Soviet power reactors were designed by the Ministry of Medium Machine Building (Sredmash), the key Soviet ministry for administering the Soviet nuclear weapons complex from 1953 until 1989 (when it was reorganized into the Ministry of Atomic Energy and Industry of the USSR). The reactors were ordered and administered, however by the Ministry of Energy and Electrification (Minenergo), which was in charge of power production and plant operation. The differences in institutional culture, priorities, and expertise between these two industries have been argued to be core to understanding the choices made by the Soviet Union in the field of nuclear power, notably in its embrace of the controversial RBMK reactor design, which was developed with a priority on ease of local construction, economical value, and the possibility (never implemented) for dual-use plutonium production — with core safety concerns being either de-prioritized or kept secret.[2]

Chernobyl accident of April 26, 1986

On April 26, 1986, an uncontrolled power increase occurred within the core of Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant causing an explosion within the core that destroyed the reactor itself, and vented radioactive materials into the atmosphere and surrounding environment, causing dozens of immediate deaths related to the containment of the accident, and potentially tens of thousands of later deaths from cancer.[5][6] The Chernobyl disaster is one of two disasters ranked as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale for the spread of radioactive material and environmental effects, and there are significant areas of Ukraine and Belarus that are still considered contaminated by the accident.[7]

Following the 1986 accident, stances on nuclear power changed, especially so in the USSR.[8] The incident highlighted the threat of the country's 24 RBMK reactors, which were found to have been created with major operational flaws that cause uncontrollable spikes in energy during a reactor's emergency shutdown procedure.[9] These required re-design or replacement to meet safety standards for operation.[4][10]

The event slowed the nuclear energy program of the Soviet Union, which would not see reinvigoration until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

List of Reactors

Name Location SSR Unit Type Gross Capacity (MWe) Operational Notes
Armenian Yerevan Armenian 1 VVER 408 1976-1988 Shutdown after the Spitak Earthquake and Chernobyl accident
2 VVER 440 1980-1988, 1995– Shutdown after the Spitak Earthquake and Chernobyl accident, restarted in 1995. Shutdown expected 2026
Beloyarsk Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast Russian 1 AMB-100 108 1958-1983
2 AMB-200 160 1962-1990
3 BN-600 600 1969-
4 BN-800 885 1987-
Chernobyl Chernobyl Ukrainian 1 RBMK 1000 1977-1995 Shutdown as a result of the Chernobyl Disaster
2 RBMK 1000 1978-1991 Shutdown as a result of fire damage
3 RBMK 1000 1981-1995 Shutdown as a result of the Chernobyl Disaster
4 RBMK 1000 1983-1986 Catastrophic meltdown and explosion — the reactor of the Chernobyl Disaster
5 RBMK 1000 Planned 1986 Postponed to 1989, then cancelled by Chernobyl Disaster
6 RBMK 1000 Planned 1988 Postponed to 1989, then cancelled by Chernobyl Disaster
Ignalina Visaginas Lithuanian 1 RBMK-1500 1360 1983-2004 Initially operated at 1500 MW, de-rated to 1360 after the Chernobyl accident.
2 RBMK-1500 1360 1987-2009 Meant to come online in 1986, postponed for a year after the Chernobyl accident.
3 RBMK-1500 1500 Planned 1991 Construction cancelled in 1989
4 RBMK-1500 1500 Planned 1990s Construction cancelled in 1989
Kola Polyarnye Zori Russian 1 VVER 440 1973- Shutdown expected 2033
2 VVER 440 1975- Shutdown expected 2035
3 VVER 440 1982- Shutdown expected 2042
4 VVER 440 1984- Shutdown expected 2044
Kursk Kursk Russian 1 RBMK 1000 1977-2021
2 RBMK 1000 1979- Shutdown expected 2024
3 RBMK 1000 1983- Shutdown expected 2033[11] Originally expected in 2028, but prolonged by more 5 years
4 RBMK 1000 1985- Shutdown expected in 2035[11] Originally expected in 2030, but prolonged by more 5 year
5 RBMK 1000 Planned 1991 Construction cancelled in 2012, nearly 100% complete
6 RBMK 1000 Planned 1992 Construction cancelled in 1993
Leningrad Sosnovy Bor Russian 1 RBMK 1000 1974-2018
2 RBMK 1000 1976-2020
3 RBMK 1000 1980- Shutdown expected 2025
4 RBMK 1000 1981- Shutdown expected 2026
Novovoronezh Novovoronezh Russian 1 VVER 210 1964-1988
2 VVER 365 1970-1990
3 VVER 417 1972-2016
4 VVER 417 1973- Shutdown expected 2032
5 VVER 950 1981- Shutdown expected 2035
Obninsk Obninsk Russian 1 AM-1 5 1954-2002 World's first nuclear power plant
Rivne Varash Ukrainian 1 VVER 440 1981- Shutdown expected in 2041
2 VVER 440 1982- Shutdown expected in 2042
3 VVER 1000 1986- Shutdown expected in 2041
4 VVER 1000 2004- Shutdown expected in 2064
Smolensk Smolensk Russian 1 RBMK 1000 1983- Shutdown expected 2027
2 RBMK 1000 1985- Shutdown expected 2030
3 RBMK 1000 1990- Shutdown expected 2034
4 RBMK 1000 Planned ~1994 Construction cancelled 1993
South Ukraine Yuzhnoukrainsk Ukrainian 1 VVER 1000 1983- Shutdown expected in 2043
2 VVER 1000 1985- Shutdown expected in 2045
3 VVER 1000 1989- Shutdown expected in 2049
4 VVER 1000 Planned 1991 Construction halted in 1989 - cooling capability problem

See also

References

  1. ^ Semenov, B.A. "Nuclear power in the Soviet Union" (PDF). IAEA. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b Morrissey, John (March 15, 2015). "Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant". Stanford University.
  3. ^ a b Zheludev, I.S. "Nuclear power in the USSR" (PDF). IAEA. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b Walker, Martin. "The vision consumed in the fire this time". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Chernobyl Accident 1986". World Nuclear. May 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "What was the death toll from Chernobyl and Fukushima?". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  7. ^ "Level 7 Major Nuclear Accidents: Chernobyl Death Toll and Fukushima". HuffPost. 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  8. ^ Walker, Christopher (15 May 2019). "Accident a blow to expanding energy industry". The Times. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ^ Karpan, N. V. (2006). Chernobyl. IKK "Balans-Klub". ISBN 9789668135217. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  10. ^ Tucker, Anthony. "Chernobyl factors". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Атом задерживается". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
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