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Kursk Nuclear Power Plant
Kursk I RBMK with the incomplete blocks 5 and 6 in the foreground in 2010
Official name	Курская АЭС
Country	Russia
Coordinates	51°40′35″N 35°36′23″E / 51.67639°N 35.60639°E / 51.67639; 35.60639
Status	Operational
Construction began	1 June 1972
Commission date	12 October 1977
Owner	Rosatom
Operator	Rosenergoatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	RBMK-1000
Power generation
Units operational	2 × 1,000 MW
Units decommissioned	2 × 1,000 MW
Nameplate capacity	2,000 MW
External links
Website	Kursk NPP
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is one of the three biggest nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Russia and one of the four biggest electricity producers in the country. It is located on the bank of the Seym River about 40 kilometers west of the city of Kursk, midway between it and the town of Lgov, in western Russia. The nearby city of Kurchatov was founded when construction of the plant began. The plant feeds the grid for Kursk Oblast and 19 other regions. As of 2024, the site houses two active reactors and two decommissioned older units. It also houses the partially built Kursk 5 and Kursk 6 units which had construction halted, and two new VVER designs (Kursk II-1 and Kursk II-2) are under construction.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Grossi urged both Russia and Ukraine to exercise "maximum restraint" to avoid an accident at the plant during the August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion following reports of "significant military activity" near the facility.

Kursk I

Planning and construction

The decision to build the Kursk NPP was made in the mid-1960s by Soviet authorities. The plant was intended to supply the growing energy demands of the quickly developing industrial complex of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (Stary-Oskol and Mikhaylovsk ore mining and processing factories and other manufacturing companies). The general designer of Kursk I was Atomenergoproject (Moscow), the general contractor was the Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (Moscow) and the research manager was the Kurchatov Institute. It was built by the Department for the Construction of Kursk NPP (now Kurskatomenergostroy Ltd). On-site construction began in 1971.

The structure of the Kursk I plant is almost identical to Chernobyl's structure having two first-generation RBMK blocks followed by two second-generation blocks. The 1991 American television movie Chernobyl: The Final Warning used the Kursk plant and the neighbouring town of Kurchatov to stand in for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Pripyat respectively. The Kursk I plant and Kurchatov would play as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Pripyat once again in the 2021 Russian film Chernobyl: Abyss.

Specifications

Kursk I is a one-circuit plant: the steam supplied to the turbines is produced inside the reactor by the boiling coolant (ordinary demineralized water circulating inside a circuit). To condense the steam the plant uses water from a 21.5 sq km cooling pond. It has four RBMK-1000 reactors (1000 MW each). The first unit was launched in 1976, the second in 1979, the third in 1983 and the fourth in 1985. Kursk NPP is one of the three biggest NPPs in Russia and one of the four biggest electricity producers in the country (along with Balakovo and Leningrad NPPs and Sayano-Shushink WPP).

Kursk NPP is an important part of the Unified Power System of Russia. Its key consumer is the ECO Center energy system covering 19 regions of the Central Federal District. Kursk NPP produces 52% of the total output of all electric power plants of Chernozemye (Black Earth Belt). It is the key energy supplier of Central Chernozemye, a region that produces 48% of iron ore, 13.5% of steel, 19% of ferrous metals, 9.6% of meat, 19.5% of sugar in Russia. The development of that region is largely credited to the Kursk NPP as it provides power and a stable source of both employment and income for the communities around it. Kursk NPP feeds 90% of the industry of the Kursk region. It also supplies electricity to northern and north-eastern Ukraine.

As of the beginning of 2006, the plant had generated 560 billion kWh. In total Kursk's four RBMK-1000 units have generated 987 billion kWh of electricity while simultaneously providing district heating to nearby towns and process heat to industry.

Shutdown

Although the Kursk I plant has been a major success for the local area, as the reactors age they begin to require much longer and more costly maintenance outages compared to modern reactor types with greater efficiency. In 2015, Rosenergoatom proposed that Unit 1 RBMK would be shut down in 2023, followed by Unit 2 in 2027. On December 19, 2021, exactly 45 years to the day since it began operation, Unit 1 RBMK shut down. Unit 2 shut down in January 2024. The third and fourth units were scheduled to close in 2029 and 2031, but now they are due to close in 2033 and 2035 respectively.

Kursk II VVER

Kursk II Nuclear Power Plant
Power plant blocks 1 and 2
Official name	Курская АЭС
Country	Russia
Coordinates	51°41′18″N 35°34′24″E / 51.68833°N 35.57333°E / 51.68833; 35.57333
Status	Under construction
Construction began	29 April 2018
Commission date	(2025)
Owner	Rosatom
Operator	Rosenergoatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	VVER-TOI
Power generation
Units under const.	2 × 1,300 MW
Nameplate capacity	2,600 MW
External links
Website	Kursk NPP
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Planning and construction

With the RBMK reactors of Kursk I reaching end-of-life, and because of how heavily the surrounding area relies on this site, a replacement was necessary. The new VVER-TOI reactor was chosen, and this site would be the pioneering power station with this reactor type.

Civil construction of Kursk II began in 2017 with the excavation of an estimated 1.2 million cubic meters of soil, as part of the work for the two new units. More than 800,000m³ of sand and gravel mixture was laid at the base of the buildings and structures. The formation of the sand and gravel coating of unit one was completed in October 2017, while the first concrete layer (concrete bedding) under the foundation plate was assembled in November 2017. The first 16t reinforced concrete block was installed on the rebar of the lower foundation belt in December 2017. The foundation will comprise 105 reinforced concrete blocks with a total weight of 1,600t. More than 16,000m³ of self-compacting concrete mix was proposed to be laid in the foundation slab of the reactor building, and the works were expected to be completed by June 2018. The construction work also included the engineering networks – steam pipelines, hot water supply pipelines for the construction base, and heating networks.

Five 40t GIRAFFE TDK-40.1100 pillar cranes will be used for constructing the internal and boundary walls of the reactor unit of the first power unit. DEMAG CC 6800, a heavy-duty crane, will also be used for constructing the building structures at the reactor buildings.

The first concrete was poured in April 2018, marking the start of construction of the nuclear island building foundations. The first VVER-TOI reactors Kursk-II-1 and II-2 were to replace Kursk 1 and 2 RBMK, which were approaching end-of-life. With two more VVER-TOI units planned, they will eventually replace all four RBMK reactors. The first Kursk RBMK reactor shut down in December 2021, while the first Kursk II unit was expected to be commissioned by the end of 2022, and the second unit in 2023.

In January 2023, the 235-tonne steel dome was set on the unit 1 containment building, where it will serve as a key barrier between the reactor and the environment. This lift raised the overall height of the reactor building to its final height of 64.5 meters (211 feet). The steel dome will be covered in a thick layer of reinforced concrete forming the containment building.

Specifications

The two 3+ generation reactors of Kursk NPP II will be the pilot units of the VVER-TOI project and include a turbine plant featuring a low-speed turbine-generator, manufactured by Power Machines PJSC. The new design will increase the reactor capacity by an additional 25% over conventional VVER-1000 reactors. A PS330/10kV substation will provide electric energy for the construction works and for the site’s facilities. The new substation will be connected from a 330kV operating outdoor switchgear to a 330kV overhead power line.

Reactor data

Kursk I consists of six RBMK design reactors, four of which were completed, and two of which remain in operation. Kursk II is under construction and will contain VVER design reactors.

Russo-Ukrainian War

The International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Grossi urged both Russia and Ukraine to exercise "maximum restraint" to avoid an accident at the plant during the August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion following reports of "significant military activity" near the facility. On 11 August 2024, it was reported that Russia had been constructing defensive trench lines near the power plant and up to 8 km away, with additional National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) forces. Fighting occurred 20 miles (35 km) from the plant.

See also

• Nuclear power in Russia
• List of commercial nuclear reactors#Russia

Notes

1. Russian: Курская АЭС, romanized: Kurskaya AES pronunciation

References

1. "UN urges restraint to avoid Russia nuclear plant disaster". RTÉ News. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
2. ^ "Kursk NPP". Rosenergoatom. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
3. ^ Kalashnikov, Sergey (15 December 2022). "Станки становятся в строй" [The machines are being put into operation]. Kommersant. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
4. "Kursk 1 retires". World Nuclear News. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
5. "Kursk's second unit retires after 45 years operation". World Nuclear News. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
6. "Russia to start building Kursk-II in first half of 2018". Nuclear Engineering International. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
7. "AEM Technology sees milestone with first VVER-TOI". World Nuclear News. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
8. "Outer containment dome completed at Russia's Kursk-II unit 1". Nuclear Engineering International. Business Trade Media International. 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
9. "Kursk II Nuclear Power Project, Kurchatov, Kursk Oblast, Russia". NS Energy. Business Trade Media International. 18 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
10. "Станции и проекты". Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
11. Power Reactor Information System Archived 11 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine of the IAEA: „Russian Federation: Nuclear Power Reactors“ Archived 26 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
12. "Power Reactor Details - KURSK-5". web.archive.org. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
13. "Kursk-6 on the PRIS of the IAEA". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
14. "Power Reactor Details - KURSK-6". web.archive.org. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
15. "Kursk 2-1 on the PRIS of the IAEA". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
16. "На Курской АЭС-2 началось сооружение новых блоков". Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
17. "UN urges restraint to avoid Russia nuclear plant disaster". RTÉ News. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
18. Barber, Harriet (11 August 2024). "Ukraine-Russia war live: Russia 'digging trenches' around Kursk nuclear plant". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
19. Cook, Ellie (12 August 2024). "Russia builds fortifications around Kursk nuclear plant as Ukraine advances". Newsweek.

External links

• Kursk NPP home page at Energoatom (English version)
• About Kursk NPP at Bellona Foundation

v t e Nuclear power in Russia
Energy policy of Russia Energy in Russia
Reactors	Active Akademik Lomonosov Balakovo Beloyarsk Bilibino Dimitrovgrad Kalinin Kola Kursk Leningrad Leningrad II Novovoronezh Novovoronezh II Rostov Smolensk BOR-60 Under construction Leningrad II Kursk II BREST-300 MBIR Closed Obninsk Siberian Troitsk ADE-2 Canceled Bashkir Gorky Kaliningrad Krasnodar Primorsk South Ural Tatar (Kama) Tver Volgograd Voronezh Planned Smolensk II BN-1200
Reactor types	Power plant reactors BN-600 BN-800 RBMK EGP-6 VVER VVER-TOI KLT-40S MKER Research, experimental and prototype reactors GT-MHR T-15
Research locations	Kurchatov Institute
Companies	Atomenergomash Atommash Atomstroyexport OKBM Afrikantov OKB Gidropress Rosatom
Category

• Nuclear power stations built in the Soviet Union
• Nuclear power stations in Russia
• Nuclear power stations using RBMK reactors
• Buildings and structures in Kursk Oblast
• Energy infrastructure completed in 1976