A nuclear power plant, or NPP for short, is a complex of technical structures designed to generate electrical energy by using the energy released during a controlled nuclear reaction.

In the second half of the 40s, before work was completed on creating the first atomic bomb, which was tested on August 29, 1949, Soviet scientists began developing the first projects for the peaceful use of atomic energy. The main focus of the projects was electricity.

In May 1950, near the village of Obninskoye, Kaluga Region, construction began on the world's first nuclear power plant.

Electricity was first produced using a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 in the state of Idaho in the USA.

To test its functionality, the generator was connected to four incandescent lamps, but I did not expect the lamps to light up.

From that moment on, humanity began to use the energy of a nuclear reactor to produce electricity.

First Nuclear Power Plants

The construction of the world's first nuclear power plant with a capacity of 5 MW was completed in 1954 and on June 27, 1954 it was launched and began to work.

In 1958, the 1st stage of the Siberian Nuclear Power Plant with a capacity of 100 MW was put into operation.

Construction of the Beloyarsk industrial nuclear power plant also began in 1958. On April 26, 1964, the 1st stage generator supplied current to consumers.

In September 1964, the 1st unit of the Novovoronezh NPP with a capacity of 210 MW was launched. The second unit with a capacity of 350 MW was launched in December 1969.

In 1973, the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant was launched.

In other countries, the first industrial nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1956 at Calder Hall (Great Britain) with a capacity of 46 MW.

In 1957, a 60 MW nuclear power plant came into operation in Shippingport (USA).

The world leaders in nuclear power production are:

1. USA (788.6 billion kWh/year),
2. France (426.8 billion kWh/year),
3. Japan (273.8 billion kWh/year),
4. Germany (158.4 billion kWh/year),
5. Russia (154.7 billion kWh/year).

NPP classification

Nuclear power plants can be classified in several ways:

By reactor type

• Thermal neutron reactors that use special moderators to increase the likelihood of neutron absorption by the nuclei of fuel atoms
• Light water reactors
• Heavy water reactors
• Fast reactors
• Subcritical reactors using external neutron sources
• Fusion reactors

By type of energy released

1. Nuclear power plants (NPPs) designed to generate only electricity
2. Nuclear combined heat and power plants (CHPs), generating both electricity and thermal energy

At nuclear power plants located in Russia there are heating installations; they are necessary for heating network water.

Types of fuel used at Nuclear Power Plants

At nuclear power plants, it is possible to use several substances, thanks to which it is possible to generate nuclear electricity; modern nuclear power plant fuels are uranium, thorium and plutonium.

Thorium fuel is not used in nuclear power plants today, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is more difficult to convert into fuel elements, abbreviated fuel elements.

Fuel rods are metal tubes that are placed inside a nuclear reactor. Inside

Fuel elements contain radioactive substances. These tubes are nuclear fuel storage facilities.

Secondly, the use of thorium fuel requires its complex and expensive processing after use at nuclear power plants.

Plutonium fuel is also not used in nuclear power engineering, due to the fact that this substance has a very complex chemical composition, a system for full and safe use has not yet been developed.

Uranium fuel

The main substance that produces energy at nuclear power plants is uranium. Today, uranium is mined in several ways:

• open pit mining
• locked in mines
• underground leaching, using mine drilling.

Underground leaching, using mine drilling, occurs by placing a sulfuric acid solution in underground wells, the solution is saturated with uranium and pumped back out.

The largest uranium reserves in the world are located in Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Canada.

The richest deposits are in Canada, Zaire, France and the Czech Republic. In these countries, up to 22 kilograms of uranium raw material are obtained from a ton of ore.

In Russia, a little more than one and a half kilograms of uranium is obtained from one ton of ore. Uranium mining sites are non-radioactive.

In its pure form, this substance is of little danger to humans; a much greater danger is the radioactive colorless gas radon, which is formed during the natural decay of uranium.

Uranium preparation

Uranium is not used in the form of ore in nuclear power plants; the ore does not react. To use uranium at nuclear power plants, the raw material is processed into powder - uranium oxide, and after that it becomes uranium fuel.

Uranium powder is turned into metal “tablets” - it is pressed into small neat flasks, which are fired during the day at temperatures above 1500 degrees Celsius.

It is these uranium pellets that enter nuclear reactors, where they begin to interact with each other and, ultimately, provide people with electricity.

About 10 million uranium pellets are working simultaneously in one nuclear reactor.

Before placing uranium pellets in the reactor, they are placed in metal tubes made of zirconium alloys - fuel elements; the tubes are connected to each other into bundles and form fuel assemblies - fuel assemblies.

It is the fuel assemblies that are called nuclear power plant fuel.

How does nuclear power plant fuel reprocess?

After a year of using uranium in nuclear reactors, it must be replaced.

Fuel elements are cooled for several years and sent for chopping and dissolution.

As a result of chemical extraction, uranium and plutonium are released, which are reused and used to make fresh nuclear fuel.

The decay products of uranium and plutonium are used to manufacture sources of ionizing radiation; they are used in medicine and industry.

Everything that remains after these manipulations is sent to the furnace for heating, glass is made from this mass, such glass is stored in special storage facilities.

Glass is not made from the residues for mass use; glass is used to store radioactive substances.

It is difficult to extract from glass the remains of radioactive elements that can harm the environment. Recently, a new way to dispose of radioactive waste has emerged.

Fast nuclear reactors or fast neutron reactors, which operate on reprocessed nuclear fuel residues.

According to scientists, the remains of nuclear fuel, which are currently stored in storage facilities, are capable of providing fuel for fast neutron reactors for 200 years.

In addition, new fast reactors can operate on uranium fuel, which is made from uranium 238; this substance is not used in conventional nuclear power plants, because It is easier for today’s nuclear power plants to process 235 and 233 uranium, of which there is little left in nature.

Thus, new reactors are an opportunity to use huge deposits of 238 uranium, which have not been used before.

Operating principle of nuclear power plants

The operating principle of a nuclear power plant based on a double-circuit pressurized water reactor (VVER).

The energy released in the reactor core is transferred to the primary coolant.

At the exit of the turbines, the steam enters the condenser, where it is cooled by a large amount of water coming from the reservoir.

The pressure compensator is a rather complex and cumbersome structure that serves to equalize pressure fluctuations in the circuit during reactor operation that arise due to thermal expansion of the coolant. The pressure in the 1st circuit can reach up to 160 atmospheres (VVER-1000).

In addition to water, molten sodium or gas can also be used as a coolant in various reactors.

The use of sodium makes it possible to simplify the design of the reactor core shell (unlike the water circuit, the pressure in the sodium circuit does not exceed atmospheric pressure), and to get rid of the pressure compensator, but it creates its own difficulties associated with the increased chemical activity of this metal.

The total number of circuits may vary for different reactors, the diagram in the figure is shown for reactors of the VVER type (Water-Water Energy Reactor).

Reactors of the RBMK type (High Power Channel Type Reactor) use one water circuit, and BN reactors (Fast Neutron Reactor) use two sodium and one water circuits.

If it is not possible to use a large amount of water for steam condensation, instead of using a reservoir, the water can be cooled in special cooling towers, which due to their size are usually the most visible part of a nuclear power plant.

Nuclear reactor structure

A nuclear reactor uses a nuclear fission process in which a heavy nucleus breaks into two smaller fragments.

These fragments are in a highly excited state and emit neutrons, other subatomic particles and photons.

Neutrons can cause new fissions, resulting in more of them being emitted, and so on.

Such a continuous self-sustaining series of splittings is called a chain reaction.

This releases a large amount of energy, the production of which is the purpose of using nuclear power plants.

The operating principle of a nuclear reactor and nuclear power plant is such that about 85% of the fission energy is released within a very short period of time after the start of the reaction.

The rest is produced by the radioactive decay of fission products after they have emitted neutrons.

Radioactive decay is a process in which an atom reaches a more stable state. It continues after division is completed.

Basic elements of a nuclear reactor

• Nuclear fuel: enriched uranium, isotopes of uranium and plutonium. The most commonly used is uranium 235;
• Coolant for removing the energy generated during reactor operation: water, liquid sodium, etc.;
• Control rods;
• Neutron moderator;
• Radiation protection sheath.

Operating principle of a nuclear reactor

In the reactor core there are fuel elements (fuel elements) - nuclear fuel.

They are assembled into cassettes containing several dozen fuel rods. The coolant flows through the channels through each cassette.

Fuel rods regulate the power of the reactor. A nuclear reaction is possible only at a certain (critical) mass of the fuel rod.

The mass of each rod individually is below critical. The reaction begins when all the rods are in the active zone. By inserting and removing fuel rods, the reaction can be controlled.

So, when the critical mass is exceeded, radioactive fuel elements emit neutrons that collide with atoms.

As a result, an unstable isotope is formed, which immediately decays, releasing energy in the form of gamma radiation and heat.

Particles colliding impart kinetic energy to each other, and the number of decays increases exponentially.

This is a chain reaction - the principle of operation of a nuclear reactor. Without control, it occurs at lightning speed, which leads to an explosion. But in a nuclear reactor the process is under control.

Thus, thermal energy is released in the core, which is transferred to the water washing this zone (primary circuit).

Here the water temperature is 250-300 degrees. Next, the water transfers heat to the second circuit, and then to the turbine blades that generate energy.

The conversion of nuclear energy into electrical energy can be represented schematically:

• Internal energy of a uranium nucleus
• Kinetic energy of fragments of decayed nuclei and released neutrons
• Internal energy of water and steam
• Kinetic energy of water and steam
• Kinetic energy of turbine and generator rotors
• Electric Energy

The reactor core consists of hundreds of cassettes united by a metal shell. This shell also plays the role of a neutron reflector.

Control rods for adjusting the reaction speed and reactor emergency protection rods are inserted among the cassettes.

Nuclear heat supply station

The first projects of such stations were developed back in the 70s of the 20th century, but due to the economic upheavals that occurred in the late 80s and severe public opposition, none of them were fully implemented.

The exception is the Bilibino nuclear power plant of small capacity; it supplies heat and electricity to the village of Bilibino in the Arctic (10 thousand inhabitants) and local mining enterprises, as well as defense reactors (they produce plutonium):

• Siberian nuclear power plant, supplying heat to Seversk and Tomsk.
• The ADE-2 reactor at the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine, which has been supplying thermal and electrical energy to the city of Zheleznogorsk since 1964.

At the time of the crisis, the construction of several ASTs based on reactors similar to VVER-1000 had begun:

• Voronezh AST
• Gorky AST
• Ivanovo AST (only planned)

Construction of these ASTs was stopped in the second half of the 1980s or early 1990s.

In 2006, the Rosenergoatom concern planned to build a floating nuclear power plant for Arkhangelsk, Pevek and other polar cities based on the KLT-40 reactor plant, used on nuclear icebreakers.

There is a project for the construction of an unattended nuclear power plant based on the Elena reactor, and a mobile (by rail) Angstrem reactor plant.

Disadvantages and advantages of nuclear power plants

Any engineering project has its positive and negative sides.

Positive aspects of nuclear power plants:

• No harmful emissions;
• Emissions of radioactive substances are several times less than coal electricity. stations of similar power (coal ash thermal power plants contain a percentage of uranium and thorium sufficient for their profitable extraction);
• Small volume of fuel used and the possibility of its reuse after processing;
• High power: 1000-1600 MW per power unit;
• Low cost of energy, especially thermal energy.

Negative aspects of nuclear power plants:

• Irradiated fuel is dangerous and requires complex and expensive reprocessing and storage measures;
• Variable power operation is not desirable for thermal neutron reactors;
• The consequences of a possible incident are extremely severe, although its probability is quite low;
• Large capital investments, both specific, per 1 MW of installed capacity for units with a capacity of less than 700-800 MW, and general, necessary for the construction of the station, its infrastructure, as well as in the event of possible liquidation.

Scientific developments in the field of nuclear energy

Of course, there are shortcomings and concerns, but nuclear energy seems to be the most promising.

Alternative methods of obtaining energy, due to the energy of tides, wind, sun, geothermal sources, etc., currently do not have a high level of energy received, and its low concentration.

The necessary types of energy production have individual risks for the environment and tourism, for example, the production of photovoltaic cells, which pollutes the environment, the danger of wind farms for birds, and changes in wave dynamics.

Scientists are developing international projects for new generation nuclear reactors, for example GT-MGR, which will improve safety and increase the efficiency of nuclear power plants.

Russia has begun construction of the world's first floating nuclear power plant, which helps solve the problem of energy shortages in remote coastal areas of the country.

The USA and Japan are developing mini-nuclear power plants with a capacity of about 10-20 MW for the purpose of heat and power supply to individual industries, residential complexes, and in the future - individual houses.

A decrease in plant capacity implies an increase in production scale. Small-sized reactors are created using safe technologies that greatly reduce the possibility of nuclear leakage.

Hydrogen production

The US government has adopted the Atomic Hydrogen Initiative. Together with South Korea, work is underway to create a new generation of nuclear reactors capable of producing large quantities of hydrogen.

INEEL (Idaho National Engineering Environmental Laboratory) predicts that one unit of the next generation nuclear power plant will produce hydrogen equivalent to 750,000 liters of gasoline daily.

Research into the feasibility of producing hydrogen at existing nuclear power plants is being funded.

Fusion energy

An even more interesting, although relatively distant, prospect is the use of nuclear fusion energy.

Thermonuclear reactors, according to calculations, will consume less fuel per unit of energy, and both this fuel itself (deuterium, lithium, helium-3) and the products of their synthesis are non-radioactive and, therefore, environmentally safe.

Currently, with the participation of Russia, the construction of the international experimental thermonuclear reactor ITER is underway in the south of France.

What is efficiency

Efficiency factor (COP) is a characteristic of the efficiency of a system or device in relation to the conversion or transmission of energy.

It is determined by the ratio of usefully used energy to the total amount of energy received by the system. Efficiency is a dimensionless quantity and is often measured as a percentage.

Nuclear power plant efficiency

The highest efficiency (92-95%) is the advantage of hydroelectric power plants. They generate 14% of the world's electrical power.

However, this type of station is the most demanding regarding the construction site and, as practice has shown, is very sensitive to compliance with operating rules.

The example of the events at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP showed what tragic consequences can result from neglecting operating rules in an effort to reduce operating costs.

Nuclear power plants have high efficiency (80%). Their share in global electricity production is 22%.

But nuclear power plants require increased attention to the safety issue, both at the design stage, during construction, and during operation.

The slightest deviation from strict safety regulations for nuclear power plants is fraught with fatal consequences for all humanity.

In addition to the immediate danger in the event of an accident, the use of nuclear power plants is accompanied by safety problems associated with the disposal or disposal of spent nuclear fuel.

The efficiency of thermal power plants does not exceed 34%; they generate up to sixty percent of the world's electricity.

In addition to electricity, thermal power plants produce thermal energy, which in the form of hot steam or hot water can be transmitted to consumers over a distance of 20-25 kilometers. Such stations are called CHP (Heat Electric Central).

TPPs and combined heat and power plants are not expensive to build, but unless special measures are taken, they have an adverse impact on the environment.

The adverse impact on the environment depends on what fuel is used in thermal units.

The most harmful products are the combustion of coal and heavy oil products; natural gas is less aggressive.

Thermal power plants are the main sources of electricity in Russia, the USA and most European countries.

However, there are exceptions, for example, in Norway, electricity is generated mainly by hydroelectric power plants, and in France, 70% of electricity is generated by nuclear power plants.

The first power plant in the world

The very first central power plant, the Pearl Street, was commissioned on September 4, 1882 in New York City.

The station was built with the support of the Edison Illuminating Company, which was headed by Thomas Edison.

Several Edison generators with a total capacity of over 500 kW were installed on it.

The station supplied electricity to an entire area of ​​New York with an area of ​​about 2.5 square kilometers.

The station burned to the ground in 1890; only one dynamo survived, which is now in the Greenfield Village Museum, Michigan.

On September 30, 1882, the first hydroelectric power plant, the Vulcan Street in Wisconsin, began operation. The author of the project was G.D. Rogers, head of the Appleton Paper & Pulp Company.

A generator with a power of approximately 12.5 kW was installed at the station. There was enough electricity to power Rogers' home and his two paper mills.

Gloucester Road Power Station. Brighton was one of the first cities in Britain to have an uninterrupted power supply.

In 1882, Robert Hammond founded the Hammond Electric Light Company, and on 27 February 1882 he opened the Gloucester Road Power Station.

The station consisted of a brush dynamo, which was used to drive sixteen arc lamps.

In 1885, Gloucester Power Station was purchased by the Brighton Electric Light Company. Later, a new station was built on this territory, consisting of three brush dynamos with 40 lamps.

Winter Palace Power Plant

In 1886, a power station was built in one of the courtyards of the New Hermitage.

The power plant was the largest in all of Europe, not only at the time of construction, but also over the next 15 years.

Previously, candles were used to illuminate the Winter Palace; in 1861, gas lamps began to be used. Since electric lamps had a greater advantage, developments began to introduce electric lighting.

Before the building was completely converted to electricity, lamps were used to illuminate the palace halls during the Christmas and New Year holidays in 1885.

On November 9, 1885, the project to build an “electricity factory” was approved by Emperor Alexander III. The project included the electrification of the Winter Palace, the Hermitage buildings, the courtyard and the surrounding area over three years until 1888.

There was a need to eliminate the possibility of vibration of the building from the operation of steam engines; the power plant was located in a separate pavilion made of glass and metal. It was placed in the second courtyard of the Hermitage, since then called “Electric”.

What the station looked like

The station building occupied an area of ​​630 m² and consisted of an engine room with 6 boilers, 4 steam engines and 2 locomotives and a room with 36 electric dynamos. The total power reached 445 hp.

Part of the front rooms were the first to be illuminated:

• Antechamber
• Petrovsky Hall
• Great Field Marshal's Hall
• Armorial Hall
• St. George's Hall

Three lighting modes were offered:

• full (holiday) turn on five times a year (4888 incandescent lamps and 10 Yablochkov candles);
• working – 230 incandescent lamps;
• duty (night) - 304 incandescent lamps.
  The station consumed about 30 thousand poods (520 tons) of coal per year.

Large thermal power plants, nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power stations in Russia

The largest power plants in Russia by federal district:

Central:

• Kostroma State District Power Plant, which runs on fuel oil;
• Ryazan station, the main fuel for which is coal;
• Konakovskaya, which can run on gas and fuel oil;

Ural:

• Surgutskaya 1 and Surgutskaya 2. Stations, which are one of the largest power plants in the Russian Federation. They both run on natural gas;
• Reftinskaya, operating on coal and being one of the largest power plants in the Urals;
• Troitskaya, also coal-fired;
• Iriklinskaya, the main source of fuel for which is fuel oil;

Privolzhsky:

• Zainskaya State District Power Plant, operating on fuel oil;

Siberian Federal District:

• Nazarovo State District Power Plant, which consumes fuel oil;

Southern:

• Stavropolskaya, which can also operate on combined fuel in the form of gas and fuel oil;

Northwestern:

• Kirishskaya with fuel oil.

List of Russian power plants that generate energy using water, located on the territory of the Angara-Yenisei cascade:

Yenisei:

• Sayano-Shushenskaya
• Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station;

Angara:

• Irkutsk
• Bratskaya
• Ust-Ilimskaya.

Nuclear power plants in Russia

Balakovo NPP

Located near the city of Balakovo, Saratov region, on the left bank of the Saratov reservoir. It consists of four VVER-1000 units, commissioned in 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1993.

Beloyarsk NPP

Located in the city of Zarechny, in the Sverdlovsk region, it is the second industrial nuclear power plant in the country (after the Siberian one).

Four power units were built at the station: two with thermal neutron reactors and two with fast neutron reactors.

Currently, the operating power units are the 3rd and 4th power units with BN-600 and BN-800 reactors with an electrical power of 600 MW and 880 MW, respectively.

BN-600 was put into operation in April 1980 - the world's first industrial-scale power unit with a fast neutron reactor.

BN-800 was put into commercial operation in November 2016. It is also the world's largest power unit with a fast neutron reactor.

Bilibino NPP

Located near the city of Bilibino, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. It consists of four EGP-6 units with a capacity of 12 MW each, commissioned in 1974 (two units), 1975 and 1976.

Generates electrical and thermal energy.

Kalinin NPP

It is located in the north of the Tver region, on the southern shore of Lake Udomlya and near the city of the same name.

It consists of four power units with VVER-1000 type reactors with an electrical capacity of 1000 MW, which were put into operation in 1984, 1986, 2004 and 2011.

On June 4, 2006, an agreement was signed on the construction of the fourth power unit, which was commissioned in 2011.

Kola NPP

Located near the town of Polyarnye Zori, Murmansk region, on the shores of Lake Imandra.

It consists of four VVER-440 units, commissioned in 1973, 1974, 1981 and 1984.
The power of the station is 1760 MW.

Kursk NPP

One of the four largest nuclear power plants in Russia, with the same capacity of 4000 MW.

Located near the city of Kurchatov, Kursk region, on the banks of the Seim River.

It consists of four RBMK-1000 units, commissioned in 1976, 1979, 1983 and 1985.

The power of the station is 4000 MW.

Leningrad NPP

One of the four largest nuclear power plants in Russia, with the same capacity of 4000 MW.

Located near the city of Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad region, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.

It consists of four RBMK-1000 units, commissioned in 1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981.

The power of the station is 4 GW. In 2007, production amounted to 24.635 billion kWh.

Novovoronezh NPP

Located in the Voronezh region near the city of Voronezh, on the left bank of the Don River. Consists of two VVER units.

It supplies the Voronezh region with 85% of electrical energy, and 50% with heat for the city of Novovoronezh.

The power of the station (excluding ) is 1440 MW.

Rostov NPP

Located in the Rostov region near the city of Volgodonsk. The electric power of the first power unit is 1000 MW; in 2010, the second power unit of the station was connected to the network.

In 2001-2010, the station was called Volgodonsk NPP; with the launch of the second power unit of the NPP, the station was officially renamed Rostov NPP.

In 2008, the nuclear power plant produced 8.12 billion kWh of electricity. The installed capacity utilization factor (IUR) was 92.45%. Since its launch (2001), it has generated over 60 billion kWh of electricity.

Smolensk NPP

Located near the city of Desnogorsk, Smolensk region. The station consists of three power units with RBMK-1000 type reactors, which were put into operation in 1982, 1985 and 1990.

Each power unit includes: one reactor with a thermal power of 3200 MW and two turbogenerators with an electrical power of 500 MW each.

US nuclear power plants

The Shippingport Nuclear Power Plant, with a rated capacity of 60 MW, opened in 1958 in Pennsylvania. After 1965, there was an intensive construction of nuclear power plants throughout the United States.

The bulk of America's nuclear power plants were built in the 15 years after 1965, before the first serious accident at a nuclear power plant on the planet.

If the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is remembered as the first accident, then this is not so.

The cause of the accident was irregularities in the reactor cooling system and numerous errors by operating personnel. As a result, the nuclear fuel melted. It took about one billion dollars to eliminate the consequences of the accident; the liquidation process took 14 years.

After the accident, the government of the United States of America adjusted the safety conditions for the operation of all nuclear power plants in the state.

This accordingly led to the continuation of the construction period and a significant increase in the price of “peaceful atom” facilities. Such changes slowed down the development of the general industry in the United States.

At the end of the twentieth century, the United States had 104 operating reactors. Today, the United States ranks first on earth in terms of the number of nuclear reactors.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, four reactors have been shut down in America since 2013, and construction has begun on four more.

In fact, today in the United States there are 100 reactors operating at 62 nuclear power plants, which produce 20% of all energy in the state.

The last reactor built in the United States came online in 1996 at the Watts Bar power plant.

US authorities adopted new energy policy guidelines in 2001. It includes the vector of development of nuclear energy, through the development of new types of reactors, with a more suitable efficiency factor, and new options for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.

Plans until 2020 included the construction of several dozen new nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 50,000 MW. In addition, to achieve an increase in the capacity of existing nuclear power plants by approximately 10,000 MW.

The USA is the leader in the number of nuclear power plants in the world

Thanks to the implementation of this program, the construction of four new reactors began in America in 2013 - two of which at the Vogtl nuclear power plant, and the other two at VC Summer.

These four reactors are the latest type - AP-1000, manufactured by Westinghouse.

Nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plant

(NPP), a power plant in which nuclear is converted into electricity. The primary source of energy at a nuclear power plant is nuclear reactor, in which a controlled chain reaction of fission of the nuclei of some heavy elements occurs. The heat released in this case is converted into electrical energy, as a rule, in the same way as in conventional thermal power plants(TES). Nuclear reactor running on nuclear fuel, mainly on uranium-235, uranium-233 and plutonium-239. When 1 g of uranium or plutonium isotopes is divided, 22.5 thousand kWh of energy is released, which corresponds to the combustion of almost 3 tons of standard fuel.

The world's first pilot-industrial nuclear power plant with a capacity of 5 MW was built in 1954 in Russia in Obninsk. Abroad, the first industrial nuclear power plant with a capacity of 46 MW was put into operation in 1956 in Calder Hall (Great Britain). K con. 20th century St. acted in the world. 430 nuclear power reactors with a total electrical power of approx. 370 thousand MW (including in Russia – 21.3 thousand MW). Approximately one third of these reactors operate in the United States; Japan, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Russia, France, etc. each have more than 10 operating reactors; single nuclear reactors - many other countries (Pakistan, India, Israel, etc.). The nuclear power plant produces approx. 15% of all electricity produced in the world.

The main reasons for the rapid development of nuclear power plants are the limited reserves of fossil fuels, the increase in oil and gas consumption for transport, industrial and municipal needs, as well as rising prices for non-renewable energy sources. The vast majority of operating nuclear power plants have thermal neutron reactors: water-cooled (with ordinary water as a neutron moderator and coolant); graphite-water (moderator - graphite, coolant - water); graphite-gas (moderator – graphite, coolant – gas); heavy water (moderator - heavy water, coolant - ordinary water). In Russia they are building ch. arr. graphite-water and water-water reactors; US nuclear power plants use mainly water-water reactors; in England, graphite-gas reactors; in Canada, nuclear power plants with heavy water reactors predominate. The efficiency of nuclear power plants is somewhat less than the efficiency of thermal power plants using fossil fuels; The overall efficiency of a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant is approx. 33%, and with a heavy water reactor - approx. 29%. However, graphite water reactors with superheated steam in the reactor have an efficiency approaching 40%, which is comparable to the efficiency of thermal power plants. But a nuclear power plant, essentially, does not have transport problems: for example, a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1000 MW consumes only 100 tons of nuclear fuel per year, and a thermal power plant of the same capacity consumes approx. 4 million tons of coal. The biggest disadvantage of thermal neutron reactors is the very low efficiency of using natural uranium - approx. 1 %. The utilization rate of uranium in fast neutron reactors is much higher – up to 60–70%. This allows the use of fissile materials with much lower uranium content, even sea water. However, fast reactors require large amounts of fissile plutonium, which is recovered from burnt-out fuel elements during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, which is quite expensive and complex.

All nuclear power plant reactors are equipped with heat exchangers; pumps or gas blowing units for coolant circulation; pipelines and fittings of the circulation circuit; devices for reloading nuclear fuel; special ventilation systems, emergency alarm systems, etc. This equipment, as a rule, is located in compartments separated from other rooms of the nuclear power plant by biological protection. The equipment of a nuclear power plant turbine room approximately corresponds to the equipment of a steam turbine thermal power plant. The economic indicators of a nuclear power plant depend on the efficiency of the reactor and other power equipment, the installed capacity utilization factor for the year, the energy intensity of the reactor core, etc. The share of the fuel component in the cost of generated electricity at a nuclear power plant is only 30–40% (at thermal power plants 60–70%) . Along with generating electricity, nuclear power plants are also used for desalination of water (Shevchenko NPP in Kazakhstan).

Encyclopedia "Technology". - M.: Rosman. 2006 .

Synonyms:

See what a “nuclear power plant” is in other dictionaries:

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See also: List of nuclear power plants in the world Countries with nuclear power plants ... Wikipedia

- (NPP) a power plant in which atomic (nuclear) energy is converted into electrical energy. The energy generator at a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor (see Nuclear reactor). The heat that is released in the reactor as a result of the fission chain reaction... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

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10.7% of the world's electricity generation annually comes from nuclear power plants. Along with thermal power plants and hydroelectric power stations, they work to provide humanity with light and heat, allow them to use electrical appliances and make our lives more convenient and simpler. It just so happens that today the words “nuclear power plant” are associated with global disasters and explosions. Ordinary people do not have the slightest idea about the operation of a nuclear power plant and its structure, but even the most unenlightened have heard and are frightened by the incidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima.

What is a nuclear power plant? How do they work? How dangerous are nuclear power plants? Don't believe rumors and myths, let's find out!

On July 16, 1945, energy was extracted from a uranium nucleus for the first time at a military test site in the United States. The powerful explosion of an atomic bomb, which caused a huge number of casualties, became the prototype of a modern and absolutely peaceful source of electricity.

Electricity was first produced using a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 in the state of Idaho in the USA. To check its functionality, the generator was connected to 4 incandescent lamps; unexpectedly for everyone, the lamps lit up. From that moment on, humanity began to use the energy of a nuclear reactor to produce electricity.

The world's first nuclear power plant was launched in Obninsk in the USSR in 1954. Its power was only 5 megawatts.

What is a nuclear power plant? A nuclear power plant is a nuclear installation that produces energy using a nuclear reactor. A nuclear reactor runs on nuclear fuel, most often uranium.

The operating principle of a nuclear installation is based on the fission reaction of uranium neutrons, which, colliding with each other, are divided into new neutrons, which, in turn, also collide and also fission. This reaction is called a chain reaction, and it underlies nuclear power. This entire process generates heat, which heats the water to a scorching hot state (320 degrees Celsius). Then the water turns into steam, the steam rotates the turbine, it drives an electric generator, which produces electricity.

The construction of nuclear power plants today is carried out at a rapid pace. The main reason for the increase in the number of nuclear power plants in the world is the limited reserves of organic fuel; simply put, gas and oil reserves are running out, they are needed for industrial and municipal needs, and uranium and plutonium, which act as fuel for nuclear power plants, are needed in small amounts; their reserves are still sufficient .

What is a nuclear power plant? It's not just electricity and heat. Along with generating electricity, nuclear power plants are also used for desalination of water. For example, there is such a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.

What fuel is used at nuclear power plants?

In practice, nuclear power plants can use several substances capable of generating nuclear electricity; modern nuclear power plant fuels are uranium, thorium and plutonium.

Thorium fuel is not currently used in nuclear power plants, because it is more difficult to convert it into fuel elements, or fuel rods in short.

Fuel rods are metal tubes that are placed inside a nuclear reactor. There are radioactive substances inside fuel rods. These tubes can be called nuclear fuel storage facilities. The second reason for the rare use of thorium is its complex and expensive processing after use at nuclear power plants.

Plutonium fuel is also not used in nuclear power engineering, because this substance has a very complex chemical composition, which they still have not learned how to use correctly.

Uranium fuel

The main substance that produces energy at nuclear power plants is uranium. Uranium today is mined in three ways: open pits, closed mines, and underground leaching, by drilling mines. The last method is especially interesting. To extract uranium by leaching, a solution of sulfuric acid is poured into underground wells, it is saturated with uranium and pumped back out.

The largest uranium reserves in the world are located in Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Canada. The richest deposits are in Canada, Zaire, France and the Czech Republic. In these countries, up to 22 kilograms of uranium raw material are obtained from a ton of ore. For comparison, in Russia a little more than one and a half kilograms of uranium is obtained from one ton of ore.

Uranium mining sites are non-radioactive. In its pure form, this substance is of little danger to humans; a much greater danger is the radioactive colorless gas radon, which is formed during the natural decay of uranium.

Uranium cannot be used in the form of ore in nuclear power plants; it cannot produce any reactions. First, uranium raw materials are processed into powder - uranium oxide, and only after that it becomes uranium fuel. Uranium powder is turned into metal “tablets” - it is pressed into small neat flasks, which are fired for 24 hours at monstrously high temperatures of more than 1500 degrees Celsius. It is these uranium pellets that enter nuclear reactors, where they begin to interact with each other and, ultimately, provide people with electricity.
About 10 million uranium pellets are working simultaneously in one nuclear reactor.
Of course, uranium pellets are not simply thrown into the reactor. They are placed in metal tubes made of zirconium alloys - fuel rods, the tubes are connected to each other into bundles and form fuel assemblies - fuel assemblies. It is FA that can rightfully be called nuclear power plant fuel.

Nuclear power plant fuel reprocessing

After about a year of use, the uranium in nuclear reactors needs to be replaced. Fuel elements are cooled for several years and sent for chopping and dissolution. As a result of chemical extraction, uranium and plutonium are released, which are reused and used to make fresh nuclear fuel.

The decay products of uranium and plutonium are used to manufacture sources of ionizing radiation. They are used in medicine and industry.

Everything that remains after these manipulations is sent to a hot furnace and glass is made from the remains, which is then stored in special storage facilities. Why glass? It will be very difficult to remove the remains of radioactive elements that can harm the environment.

Nuclear power plant news - a new method of disposing of radioactive waste has recently appeared. So-called fast nuclear reactors or fast neutron reactors have been created, which operate on recycled nuclear fuel residues. According to scientists, the remains of nuclear fuel, which are currently stored in storage facilities, are capable of providing fuel for fast neutron reactors for 200 years.

In addition, new fast reactors can operate on uranium fuel, which is made from 238 uranium; this substance is not used in conventional nuclear power plants, because It is easier for today’s nuclear power plants to process 235 and 233 uranium, of which there is little left in nature. Thus, new reactors are an opportunity to use huge deposits of 238 uranium, which no one had used before.

How is a nuclear power plant built?

What is a nuclear power plant? What is this jumble of gray buildings that most of us have only seen on TV? How durable and safe are these structures? What is the structure of a nuclear power plant? At the heart of any nuclear power plant is the reactor building, next to it is the turbine room and the safety building.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

The construction of nuclear power plants is carried out in accordance with regulations, regulations and safety requirements for facilities working with radioactive substances. A nuclear station is a full-fledged strategic object of the state. Therefore, the thickness of the walls and reinforced concrete reinforcement structures in the reactor building is several times greater than that of standard structures. Thus, the premises of nuclear power plants can withstand magnitude 8 earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, tornadoes and airplane crashes.

The reactor building is crowned with a dome, which is protected by internal and external concrete walls. The inner concrete wall is covered with a steel sheet, which in the event of an accident should create a closed air space and not release radioactive substances into the air.

Each nuclear power plant has its own cooling pool. Uranium tablets that have already served their useful life are placed there. After the uranium fuel is removed from the reactor, it remains extremely radioactive, so that reactions inside the fuel rods stop occurring, it must take from 3 to 10 years (depending on the design of the reactor in which the fuel was located). In the cooling pools, the uranium pellets cool down and reactions stop occurring inside them.

The technological diagram of a nuclear power plant, or simply put, the design diagram of nuclear power plants is of several types, as well as the characteristics of a nuclear power plant and the thermal diagram of a nuclear power plant, it depends on the type of nuclear reactor that is used in the process of generating electricity.

Floating nuclear power plant

We already know what a nuclear power plant is, but Russian scientists came up with the idea to take a nuclear power plant and make it mobile. To date, the project is almost completed. This design was called a floating nuclear power plant. According to the plan, the floating nuclear power plant will be able to provide electricity to a city with a population of up to two hundred thousand people. Its main advantage is the ability to move by sea. The construction of a nuclear power plant capable of movement is currently underway only in Russia.

Nuclear power plant news is the imminent launch of the world's first floating nuclear power plant, which is designed to provide energy to the port city of Pevek, located in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia. The first floating nuclear power plant is called "Akademik Lomonosov", a mini-nuclear power plant is being built in St. Petersburg and is planned to be launched in 2016 - 2019. The presentation of the afloat nuclear power plant took place in 2015, then the builders presented an almost finished project for the floating nuclear power plant.

The floating nuclear power plant is designed to provide electricity to the most remote cities with access to the sea. The Akademik Lomonosov nuclear reactor is not as powerful as that of land-based nuclear power plants, but has a service life of 40 years, which means that the residents of small Pevek will not suffer from a lack of electricity for almost half a century.

A floating nuclear power plant can be used not only as a source of heat and electricity, but also for desalination of water. According to calculations, it can produce from 40 to 240 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
The cost of the first block of a floating nuclear power plant was 16 and a half billion rubles; as we see, the construction of nuclear power plants is not a cheap pleasure.

Nuclear power plant safety

After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and the Fukushima accident in 2011, the words nuclear power plant cause fear and panic in people. In fact, modern nuclear power plants are equipped with the latest technology, special safety rules have been developed, and in general, nuclear power plant protection consists of 3 levels:

At the first level, normal operation of the nuclear power plant must be ensured. The safety of a nuclear power plant largely depends on the correct location for the nuclear plant, a well-created design, and the fulfillment of all conditions during the construction of the building. Everything must comply with regulations, safety instructions and plans.

At the second level, it is important to prevent normal operation of the nuclear power plant from transitioning into an emergency situation. For this purpose, there are special devices that monitor the temperature and pressure in the reactors and report the slightest changes in the readings.

If the first and second levels of protection do not work, the third is used - a direct response to an emergency situation. Sensors detect the accident and react to it themselves - the reactors are shut down, radiation sources are localized, the core is cooled, and the accident is reported.

Of course, a nuclear power plant requires special attention to the safety system, both at the construction stage and at the operation stage. Failure to comply with strict regulations can have very serious consequences, but today most of the responsibility for the safety of nuclear power plants falls on computer systems, and the human factor is almost completely excluded. Taking into account the high accuracy of modern machines, you can be confident in the safety of nuclear power plants.

Experts assure that it is impossible to receive a large dose of radioactive radiation in stably operating modern nuclear power plants or while being near them. Even nuclear power plant workers, who, by the way, measure the level of radiation received every day, are exposed to no more radiation than ordinary residents of large cities.

Nuclear reactors

What is a nuclear power plant? This is primarily a working nuclear reactor. The process of energy generation takes place inside it. FAs are placed in a nuclear reactor, where uranium neutrons react with each other, where they transfer heat to water, and so on.

Inside a specific reactor building there are the following structures: a water supply source, a pump, a generator, a steam turbine, a condenser, deaerators, a purifier, a valve, a heat exchanger, the reactor itself and a pressure regulator.

Reactors come in several types, depending on what substance acts as a moderator and coolant in the device. It is most likely that a modern nuclear power plant will have thermal neutron reactors:

• water-water (with ordinary water as both a neutron moderator and coolant);
• graphite-water (moderator - graphite, coolant - water);
• graphite-gas (moderator – graphite, coolant – gas);
• heavy water (moderator - heavy water, coolant - ordinary water).

NPP efficiency and NPP power

The overall efficiency of a nuclear power plant (efficiency factor) with a pressurized water reactor is about 33%, with a graphite water reactor - about 40%, and a heavy water reactor - about 29%. The economic viability of a nuclear power plant depends on the efficiency of the nuclear reactor, the energy intensity of the reactor core, the installed capacity utilization factor per year, etc.

NPP news – scientists promise to soon increase the efficiency of nuclear power plants by one and a half times, to 50%. This will happen if fuel assemblies, or fuel assemblies, which are directly placed into a nuclear reactor, are made not from zirconium alloys, but from a composite. The problems of nuclear power plants today are that zirconium is not heat-resistant enough, it cannot withstand very high temperatures and pressures, therefore the efficiency of nuclear power plants is low, while the composite can withstand temperatures above a thousand degrees Celsius.

Experiments on using the composite as a shell for uranium pellets are being conducted in the USA, France and Russia. Scientists are working to increase the strength of the material and its introduction into nuclear energy.

What is a nuclear power plant? Nuclear power plants are the world's electrical power. The total electrical capacity of nuclear power plants around the world is 392,082 MW. The characteristics of a nuclear power plant depend primarily on its power. The most powerful nuclear power plant in the world is located in France; the capacity of the Sivo NPP (each unit) is more than one and a half thousand MW (megawatt). The power of other nuclear power plants ranges from 12 MW in mini-nuclear power plants (Bilibino NPP, Russia) to 1382 MW (Flanmanville nuclear plant, France). At the construction stage are the Flamanville block with a capacity of 1650 MW, and the Shin-Kori nuclear power plants of South Korea with a nuclear power plant capacity of 1400 MW.

NPP cost

Nuclear power plant, what is it? This is a lot of money. Today people need any means of generating electricity. Water, thermal and nuclear power plants are being built everywhere in more or less developed countries. Construction of a nuclear power plant is not an easy process; it requires large expenses and capital investments; most often, financial resources are drawn from state budgets.

The cost of a nuclear power plant includes capital costs - expenses for site preparation, construction, putting equipment into operation (the amounts of capital costs are prohibitive, for example, one steam generator at a nuclear power plant costs more than 9 million dollars). In addition, nuclear power plants also require operating costs, which include the purchase of fuel, costs for its disposal, etc.

For many reasons, the official cost of a nuclear power plant is only approximate; today, a nuclear power station will cost approximately 21-25 billion euros. To build one nuclear unit from scratch will cost approximately $8 million. On average, the payback period for one station is 28 years, the service life is 40 years. As you can see, nuclear power plants are quite an expensive pleasure, but, as we found out, incredibly necessary and useful for you and me.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT(NPP), a power plant that uses heat released in a nuclear reactor as a result of a controlled chain reaction of fission of nuclei of heavy elements (mainly. $\ce(^(233)U, ^(235)U, ^(239)Pu)$). The heat generated in core nuclear reactor, is transmitted (directly or through an intermediate coolant) working fluid (primarily water steam), which drives steam turbines with turbogenerators.

A nuclear power plant is, in principle, an analogue of a conventional thermal power plant(TPP), in which a nuclear reactor is used instead of a steam boiler furnace. However, while the fundamental thermodynamic schemes of nuclear and thermal power plants are similar, there are also significant differences between them. The main ones are the environmental and economic advantages of nuclear power plants over thermal power plants: nuclear power plants do not require oxygen to burn fuel; they practically do not pollute the environment with sulfur dioxide and other gases; nuclear fuel has a significantly higher calorific value (the fission of 1g of U or Pu isotopes releases 22,500 kWh, which is equivalent to the energy contained in 3,000 kg of coal), which sharply reduces its volume and costs of transportation and handling; The world's energy resources of nuclear fuel significantly exceed natural reserves of hydrocarbon fuel. In addition, the use of nuclear reactors (of any type) as an energy source requires changes in the thermal circuits adopted at conventional thermal power plants and the introduction of new elements into the structure of nuclear power plants, for example. biological protection (see Radiation safety), spent fuel reloading systems, fuel holding pool, etc. The transfer of thermal energy from a nuclear reactor to steam turbines is carried out by means of a coolant circulating through sealed pipelines, in combination with circulation pumps, forming the so-called. reactor circuit or loop. Common and heavy water, water vapor, liquid metals, organic liquids, and some gases (for example, helium, carbon dioxide) are used as coolants. The circuits through which the coolant circulates are always closed to avoid leakage of radioactivity; their number is determined mainly by the type of nuclear reactor, as well as the properties of the working fluid and coolant.

At nuclear power plants with a single-circuit circuit (Fig. A) the coolant is also a working fluid, the entire circuit is radioactive and therefore surrounded by biological protection. When using an inert gas, such as helium, as a coolant, which is not activated in the neutron field of the core, biological shielding is only necessary around the nuclear reactor, since the coolant is not radioactive. The coolant - the working fluid, heats up in the reactor core, then enters the turbine, where its thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy and then into electrical energy in an electric generator. The most common are single-circuit nuclear power plants with nuclear reactors in which the coolant and neutron moderator water serves. The working fluid is formed directly in the core when the coolant is heated to boiling. Such reactors are called boiling water reactors; in the global nuclear energy industry they are designated as BWR (Boiling Water Reactor). Boiling water reactors with a water coolant and a graphite moderator - RBMK (high-power channel reactor) - have become widespread in Russia. The use of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (with helium coolant) - HTGR - at nuclear power plants is considered promising. The efficiency of single-circuit nuclear power plants operating in a closed gas turbine cycle can exceed 45–50%.

With a double-circuit circuit (Fig. b) the primary circuit coolant heated in the core is transferred to the steam generator ( heat exchanger) thermal energy to the working fluid in the second circuit, after which it is returned to the core by a circulation pump. The primary coolant can be water, liquid metal or gas, and the working fluid is water, which turns into water vapor in a steam generator. The primary circuit is radioactive and is surrounded by biological shielding (except in cases where an inert gas is used as a coolant). The second circuit is usually radiation-safe, since the working fluid and the coolant of the first circuit do not come into contact. The most widespread are double-circuit nuclear power plants with reactors in which water is the primary coolant and moderator, and water vapor is the working fluid. This type of reactor is designated as VVER - water-cooled power reactor. reactor (PWR - Power Water Reactor). The efficiency of NPPs with VVER reaches 40%. In terms of thermodynamic efficiency, such nuclear power plants are inferior to single-circuit nuclear power plants with HTGR if the temperature of the gas coolant at the exit from the core exceeds 700 °C.

Three-circuit thermal circuits (Fig. V) are used only in cases where it is necessary to completely eliminate contact of the coolant of the primary (radioactive) circuit with the working fluid; for example, when the core is cooled with liquid sodium, its contact with the working fluid (water vapor) can lead to a major accident. Liquid sodium as a coolant is used only in fast neutron nuclear reactors (FBR - Fast Breeder Reactor). The peculiarity of nuclear power plants with a fast neutron reactor is that, simultaneously with the generation of electrical and thermal energy, they reproduce fissile isotopes suitable for use in thermal nuclear reactors (see. Breeder reactor).

Nuclear power plant turbines usually operate on saturated or slightly superheated steam. When using turbines operating on superheated steam, saturated steam is passed through the reactor core (through special channels) or through a special heat exchanger - a steam superheater operating on hydrocarbon fuel - to increase the temperature and pressure. The thermodynamic efficiency of a nuclear power plant cycle is higher, the higher the parameters of the coolant and working fluid, which are determined by the technological capabilities and properties of the structural materials used in the cooling circuits of the nuclear power plant.

At nuclear power plants, great attention is paid to cleaning the coolant, since the natural impurities present in it, as well as corrosion products that accumulate during the operation of equipment and pipelines, are sources of radioactivity. The degree of purity of the coolant largely determines the level of radiation conditions in the premises of the nuclear power plant.

Nuclear power plants are almost always built near energy consumers, since the costs of transporting nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants, unlike hydrocarbon fuel for thermal power plants, have little effect on the cost of the generated energy (usually nuclear fuel in power reactors is replaced with new one once every few years). years), and the transmission of both electrical and thermal energy over long distances significantly increases their cost. A nuclear power plant is built on the downwind side of the nearest populated area; a sanitary protection zone and an observation zone are created around it, where the population is not allowed to live. Control and measuring equipment is placed in the observation zone for continuous monitoring of the environment.

Nuclear power plant is the basis nuclear power. Their main purpose is the production of electricity (condensing-type nuclear power plants) or the combined production of electricity and heat (nuclear combined heat and power plants - NCHPP). At the ATPP, part of the steam exhausted in the turbines is discharged into the so-called. network heat exchangers for heating water circulating in closed heating networks. In some cases, the thermal energy of nuclear reactors can only be used for district heating needs (nuclear heat supply plants - AST). In this case, heated water from the heat exchangers of the first and second circuits enters the network heat exchanger, where it transfers heat to the network water and then returns to the circuit.

One of the advantages of nuclear power plants compared to conventional thermal power plants is their high environmental friendliness, which is maintained when qualified. operation of nuclear reactors. Existing radiation safety barriers for nuclear power plants (fuel cladding, nuclear reactor vessel, etc.) prevent contamination of the coolant with radioactive fission products. A protective shell (containment) is erected over the reactor hall of a nuclear power plant to prevent radioactive materials from entering the environment in the event of the most severe accident - depressurization of the primary circuit, melting of the core. Training of NPP personnel involves training on special simulators (NPP simulators) to practice actions in both normal and emergency situations. At a nuclear power plant there are a number of services that ensure the normal functioning of the plant and the safety of its personnel (for example, radiation monitoring, ensuring sanitary and hygienic requirements, etc.). On the territory of the nuclear power plant, temporary storage facilities are created for fresh and spent nuclear fuel, for liquid and solid radioactive waste generated during its operation. All this leads to the fact that the cost of an installed kilowatt of power at a nuclear power plant is more than 30% higher than the cost of a kilowatt at a thermal power plant. However, the cost of energy generated at a nuclear power plant supplied to the consumer is lower than at thermal power plants, due to the very small share of the fuel component in this cost. Due to their high efficiency and power regulation features, nuclear power plants are usually used in basic modes, while the installed capacity utilization factor of nuclear power plants can exceed 80%. As the share of nuclear power plants in the overall energy balance of the region increases, they can also operate in a flexible mode (to cover load unevenness in the local energy system). The ability of nuclear power plants to operate for a long time without changing fuel allows them to be used in remote regions. Nuclear power plants have been developed whose equipment layout is based on the principles implemented in shipboard nuclear power plants. installations (see Nuclear-powered icebreaker). Such nuclear power plants can be placed, for example, on a barge. Promising nuclear power plants with HTGR are those that generate thermal energy for carrying out technological processes in metallurgical, chemical and oil production, during the gasification of coal and shale, and in the production of synthetic hydrocarbon fuels. The operating life of a nuclear power plant is 25–30 years. Decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, dismantling the reactor and reclamation of its site to the state of a “green lawn” is a complex and expensive organizational and technical event, carried out according to plans developed in each specific case.

The world's first operating nuclear power plant with a capacity of 5000 kW was launched in Russia in 1954 in Obninsk. In 1956, the Calder Hall nuclear power plant in the UK (46 MW) came into operation, and in 1957, the Shippingport nuclear power plant in the USA (60 MW). In 1974, the world's first nuclear power plant, Bilibinskaya (Chukotka Autonomous District), was launched. Mass construction of large, economical nuclear power plants began in the 2nd half. 1960s However, after the accident (1986) at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the attractiveness of nuclear energy noticeably decreased, and in a number of countries that have sufficient traditional fuel and energy resources of their own or access to them, the construction of new nuclear power plants actually stopped (Russia, USA, Great Britain, Germany). At the beginning of the 21st century, 11.3.2011 in the Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of Japan as a result of a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 to 9.1 and the subsequent tsunami(wave height reached 40.5 m) at the Fukushima1 nuclear power plant (Okuma village, Fukushima Prefecture) the largesttechnological disaster– radiation accident of the maximum level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The tsunami impact disabled external power supplies and backup diesel generators, which caused the inoperability of all normal and emergency cooling systems and led to a meltdown of the reactor core at power units 1, 2 and 3 in the early days of the accident. In December 2013, the nuclear power plant was officially closed. As of the first half of 2016, high levels of radiation make it impossible not only for people to work in reactor buildings, but also for robots, which fail due to high levels of radiation. It is planned that the removal of soil layers to special storage facilities and its destruction will take 30 years.

31 countries around the world use nuclear power plants. Valid for 2015 approx. 440 nuclear power reactors (power units) with a total capacity of more than 381 thousand MW (381 GW). OK. 70 nuclear reactors are under construction. The world leader in terms of share in total electricity generation is France (second place in terms of installed capacity), in which nuclear power accounts for 76.9%.

The largest nuclear power plant in the world in 2015 (by installed capacity) is Kashiwazaki-Kariwa (Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan). There are 5 boiling water reactors (BWR) and 2 advanced boiling water reactors (ABWR) in operation, with a combined capacity of 8,212 MW (8.212 GW).

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is Zaporozhye NPP (Energodar, Zaporozhye region, Ukraine). Since 1996, 6 power units with VVER-1000 type reactors with a total capacity of 6000 MW (6 GW) have been operating.

Table 1. Largest consumers of nuclear energy in the world
State	Number of power units	Total power (MW)	Total generated electricity (billion kWh/year)
USA	104	101 456	863,63
France	58	63 130	439,74
Japan	48	42 388	263,83
Russia	34	24 643	177,39
South Korea	23	20 717	149,2
China	23	19 907	123,81
Canada	19	13 500	98,59
Ukraine	15	13 107	83,13
Germany	9	12 074	91,78
Great Britain	16	9373	57,92

The USA and Japan are developing mini-nuclear power plants with a capacity of about 10–20 MW for heat and electricity supply to individual industries, residential complexes, and in the future – individual houses. Small-sized reactors are created using safe technologies that greatly reduce the possibility of nuclear leakage.

In Russia, as of 2015, there are 10 nuclear power plants operating 34 power units with a total capacity of 24,643 MW (24,643 GW), of which 18 power units with VVER-type reactors (of which 11 power units are VVER-1000 and 6 power units are VVER-440 of various modifications); 15 power units with channel reactors (11 power units with reactors of the RBMK-1000 type and 4 power units with reactors of the EGP-6 type - Energy Heterogeneous Loop Reactor with 6 coolant circulation loops, electrical power 12 MW); 1 power unit with a sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor BN-600 (1 power unit BN-800 is in the process of being put into commercial operation). According to the Federal Target Program “Development of the Nuclear Energy Industry Complex of Russia”, by 2025 the share of electricity generated at nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation should increase from 17 to 25% and amount to approx. 30.5 GW. It is planned to build 26 new power units, 6 new nuclear power plants, two of which are floating (Table 2).

Table 2. Nuclear power plants operating on the territory of the Russian Federation
Name of NPP	Number of power units	Years of commissioning of power units	Total installed capacity (MW)	Reactor type
Balakovo NPP (near Balakovo)	4	1985, 1987, 1988, 1993	4000	VVER-1000
Kalinin NPP [125 km from Tver on the bank of the Udomlya River (Tver region)]	4	1984, 1986, 2004, 2011	4000	VVER-1000
Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (near the city of Kurchatov on the left bank of the Seim River)	4	1976, 1979, 1983, 1985	4000	RBMK-1000
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (near Sosnovy Bor)	4 under construction – 4	1973, 1975, 1979, 1981	4000	RBMK-1000 (the first station in the country with reactors of this type)
Rostov Nuclear Power Plant (located on the shore of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir, 13.5 km from Volgodonsk)	3	2001, 2010, 2015	3100	VVER-1000
Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant (3 km from the satellite town of Desnogorsk)	3	1982, 1985, 1990	3000	RBMK-1000
Novovoronezh NPP (near Novovoronezh)	5; (2 – withdrawn), under construction – 2.	1964 and 1969 (withdrawn), 1971, 1972, 1980	1800	VVER-440; VVER-1000
Kola Nuclear Power Plant (200 km south of Murmansk on the shore of Lake Imandra)	4	1973, 1974, 1981, 1984	1760	VVER-440
Beloyarsk NPP (near Zarechny)	2	1980, 2015	600 800	BN-600 BN-800
Bilibino NPP	4	1974 (2), 1975, 1976	48	EGP-6

Designed nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation

Since 2008, according to the new project AES-2006 (a project of a Russian nuclear power plant of the new generation “3+” with improved technical and economic indicators), Novovoronezh NPP-2 (near the Novovoronezh NPP), which provides for the use of VVER-1200 reactors, has been built. The construction of 2 power units with a total capacity of 2400 MW is underway, in the future it is planned to build 2 more. The start-up of the first unit (unit No. 6) of Novovoronezh NPP-2 took place in 2016, the second unit No. 7 is planned for 2018.

The Baltic NPP provides for the use of a VVER-1200 reactor unit with a capacity of 1200 MW; power units – 2. Total installed capacity 2300 MW. Commissioning of the first unit is planned for 2020. The Federal Atomic Energy Agency of Russia is conducting a project to create low-power floating nuclear power plants. The Akademik Lomonosov NPP, which is under construction, will become the world's first floating nuclear power plant. The floating station can be used to generate electrical and thermal energy, as well as to desalinate sea water. It can produce from 40 to 240 thousand m2 of fresh water per day. The installed electrical power of each reactor is 35 MW. The station is planned to be put into operation in 2018.

International projects of Russia in nuclear energy

23.9.2013 Russia transferred the Bushehr nuclear power plant (Bushir) to Iran for operation , near the city of Bushir (Bushir stop); number of power units – 3 (1 built, 2 – under construction); reactor type – VVER-1000. Kudankulam NPP, near Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu, India); number of power units – 4 (1 – in operation, 3 – under construction); reactor type – VVER-1000. Akkuyu NPP, near Mersin (il Mersin, Türkiye); number of power units – 4 (under construction); reactor type – VVER-1200; Belarusian NPP (Ostrovets, Grodno region, Belarus); number of power units – 2 (under construction); reactor type – VVER-1200. NPP “Hanhikivi 1” (Cape Hanhikivi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa region, Finland); number of power units – 1 (under construction); reactor type – VVER-1200.