At the Leningrad NPP, the construction of a combined pumping station for fire-fighting water supply and automatic water fire extinguishing and a 110/10 kV transformer substation has been completed. The facilities are fully operational.

Currently Leningrad NPP has four units in operation – units 3&4 with Soviet RBMK-1000 reactors, as well units 5&6 with new VVER-1200 units (also known as Leningrad-II 1&2). Units 5&6 replaced units 1&2, which were decommissioned in 2018 and 2020. New VVER-1200 units (7&8) will replace units 3&4. They are scheduled to be put into commercial operation in 2030 and 2032.

“The primary construction of precisely these two facilities is a legal requirement in the Russian Federation and the main condition for the start of large-scale construction,” said Yevgeny Milushkin, Deputy Director for Capital Construction and Head of the Department of Capital Construction at Leningrad-II. “Both facilities will be in demand at all stages of the NPP’s life cycle. In the coming years, the pumping station will provide fire safety during all types of construction and installation work at the power units. The transformer substation will be used for reliable power supply to all construction projects for the fourth stage of the Leningrad NPP. In total, more than 150 buildings and structures will be built on the site of units 7&8.”

In the event of an emergency, the pumping station will begin operation in a fraction of a second to localize and extinguish any fire. The reservoirs of the pumping station store sufficient reserves of water – more than 3,000 cubic metres, comparable to the water reserve of approximately 500 fire engines. The transformer substation will provide power for numerous pumps, welding machines, compressors, lighting devices, cranes and other equipment during the construction of the units. During the winter period, specialists will be able to heat the concrete laid in the foundations, walls and ceilings of buildings to give it strength. During commissioning, the power supply will support the operation of equipment and technological systems.

Researched and written by Judith Perera