This year, design work will begin for the construction of the Smolensk-II NPP, the Smolensk regional government announced on 24 May.
Smolensk NPP comprises three upgraded 1,000MWe RBMK units which began operation in 1983, 1985 and 1990. They are scheduled to close between 2028 and 2934. The replacement capacity will use Generation 3+ VVER-TOI reactors, similar to the Kursk-II NPP project. Two new VVER-TOI reactors will be built 6km away from the existing RBMK station.
Design work will begin this year, said acting head of the Smolensk Region Department for Energy, Energy Efficiency and Tariff Policy Nikolai Borisov. He stressed that the construction of the second stage of the nuclear power plant is a very important and significant project for the Smolensk region.
“The administration of the Smolensk region and personally the governor Alexei Ostrovsky made tremendous efforts to ensure that this project was implemented in the region. Now, the regional administration has agreed on a Rosatom draft investment programme, according to which design work will begin this year, and the approximate date for putting the plant into operation is 2033,” said Borisov. He added that the estimated cost is RUB350 billion ($5.75bn).
Image: The Smolensk NPP (courtesy of Atomic Energy Russia)
