Site near border with Ukraine will be home to four VVER-TOI power reactors
Russia’s nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has issued a site licence to Rosenergoatom, a subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, for Unit 4 of the Kursk 2 nuclear power station in western Russia, near the Ukrainian border.
The approval will allow preparatory work to begin for the construction of the new reactor. Earlier in March, Rostekhnadzor issued a site licence for Unit 3 at Kursk 2.
Kursk 2 will have four Generation III+ VVER-TOI reactors. It will be the first nuclear station in Russia to use the VVER-TOI pressurised water reactor (PWR) technology, which was developed from the 1,200 MW AES-2006 PWR.
Two VVER-TOI units are already under construction at Kursk 2. The new units were planned to replace four power units with RBMK-1000 reactors at the operating Kursk 1 nuclear power station, which will be decommissioned.
Construction of Kursk 2-1 began in April 2018 and of Kursk 2-2 in April 2019. Both plants have recently seen progress with the installation of main nuclear island components.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, Russia has 36 nuclear plants in commercial operation and four – not including Units 3 and 4 at Kursk 2 – under construction.
The four under construction are Kursk 2-1, Kursk 2-2, Leningrad 2-3, on the Gulf of Finland, and the Brest-OD-300 Generation IV pilot demonstration plant in Seversk, southwest Siberia.
