MOSCOW, July 22 (RIA Novosti) – Three nuclear power units with fast-breeder BN-1200 reactors are to be launched at Russia’s Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Urals by 2030, the chief of the country’s nuclear plant operator Rosenergoatom said Tuesday.
In an announcement reported by the Beloyarsk NPP’s press office, Rosenergoatom CEO Yevgeny Romanov said that Beloyarsk’s fifth power unit will be the first in line to get a next-generation reactor installed on-site to enable a closed nuclear fuel cycle.
Fast breeders, such as the cutting-edge BN-1200, a 1200-megawatt reactor, use a liquid metal heat-transfer agent as a coolant. Russia believes they herald a new era in nuclear power engineering.
Such reactors will significantly minimize radioactive waste and expand the range of fuel used at NPPs. Very few countries have this technology, and Russia is the only one to operate a fast breeder reactor.
In June, Russia’s nuclear plant operator announced the launch of controlled nuclear fission at the BN-800 breeder reactor, which is considered a prototype of the BH-1200. It is expected to reach the target energy output of 880 megawatts in October.
