MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) – The first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be shut down in April for scheduled preventive repair, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich on 25 February.
The official said: “The first scheduled preventive repair is supposed to take place in Q2 2022. It will begin at the end of April. We are talking about maintenance operations, which nuclear power plants undergo every year in order to keep the equipment in working order. An expanded inspection of process systems will be performed. Metal of the equipment in the reactor compartment and the turbine compartment will be checked. Other steps will be taken as well.”
The scheduled repair will last for about 80 days. Belarusian and Russian organizations will take part in it. Rusatom Service Company, which is part of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom and which has been authorized by the government of the Russian Federation, will act as the general contractor for work on nuclear island installations where specialized services will be required. OAO Belenergoremnaladka, which has the relevant competences and experience of doing such work at Belarusian power plants and foreign nuclear power plants, will be the general contractor for work in the turbine compartment and auxiliary systems.
Viktor Karankevich noted that the first refueling of the first reactor of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is supposed to take place as part of the scheduled preventive repair. Fuel for the first refueling is located at the site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. It was supplied by the general contractor within the framework of the general contract and has passed incoming inspection.
A total of 163 fuel rod arrays with fresh nuclear fuel are located in the reactor core of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. About 25% of them need to be replaced every year. Special calculations carried out in association with the Kurchatov Institute determine which fuel rod arrays need replacing.
