Unit 2 of the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant in southwest Russia started the process of physical launch yesterday after having received regulatory approval to do so, Rosenergoatom, the operator subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has announced. The VVER-1200 reactor was brought to the minimum controlled power level on 22 March.

The control room of Novovoronezh II (Image: Rosatom)

Director of the plant, Vladimir Povarov, said that obtaining a permit from Rostechnadzor meant that preparation for the physical start-up phase had been fully completed.

"The actual values of the neutron-physical characteristics of the reactor core correspond to the design ones and so we can now proceed to the next stage, the energy start-up," Povarov said.

This stage involves gradually increasing the reactor's power from 1% to 35-40% in several stages. Rosenergoatom said that this power level enables connection of the turbogenerator to the network and the start of electricity generation, which is scheduled for next month. There will then be the long process of increasing the power level to 100%. Commissioning of the unit is scheduled before the end of the year.

Novovoronezh II-2 will be the third VVER-1200 to be commissioned, following Novovoronezh II-1 and Leningrad II-1, which were launched in 2016 and 2017, respectively.