Rooppur NPP: Reliable Energy
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#220August 2019

Rooppur NPP: Reliable Energy

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“As part of this contract implementation, Bangladesh will be provided with guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel for the entire life cycle of Rooppur NPP. This will contribute to the strengthening of friendly bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between Bangladesh and Russia in the field of nuclear energy,” Evgeny Pakermanov, President of Rusatom Overseas, the company coordinating negotiations with Bangladesh said.
Rosatom will cover the cost of fuel during the first year of operation.
Rosatom fuel division TVEL is the only authorized nuclear fuel supplier for the both reactor units of Rooppur NPP until the end of the plant’s life.
“As part of Rosatom’s integrated offer, TVEL Fuel Company will provide Rooppur NPP with up-to-date efficient nuclear fuel with successful operation experience at the reference power units. Negotiating this contract, TVEL has entirely met the customer requirements. I am confident that the contract will be accomplished fully and our fuel will once again demonstrate the high level of Russian nuclear technologies,” TVEL President Natalia Nikipelova said.
Construction of the nuclear power plant goes as scheduled. Concreting of the foundation slab for the turbine island of Unit 2 was finished in early August. Builders used a total of 3,782 tons of reinforcing steel and 23,550 cubic meters of concrete to make the slab.
It is a major construction milestone that will be followed by the erection of walls for the turbine island of Unit 2, Sergey Lastochkin, ASE Vice President and Director of the Rooppur Construction Project said. This part of the work has already begun on the construction site.
The country’s first nuclear station is designed by Russian engineers and will feature Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors. Similar power units are used at the Novovoronezh and Leningrad nuclear power plants in Russia. On July 31, Novovoronezh II Unit 2 was brought to 100% power capacity for the first time.
“This key event occurred right on schedule and in accordance with the pilot operation program. We completed a series of tests at 90% of power. Their results showed that the unit was operating steadily, safely and reliably. All the reactor, turbine, generator and power output parameters are within the safe operating limits,” Sergey Vitkovsky, Acting Director of Novovoronezh NPP, said.
The process of power ascension to 100% capacity includes around 100 tests and measurements that will last for two months. These tests will be followed by a 15-day final test program. It will check whether all the systems and equipment of the new unit function as designed. The unit is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2019 after the regulatory permit is obtained.

For reference
Featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is constructed 160 km away from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka under the general construction contract signed on December 25, 2015.
The ‘first concrete’ ceremony at Unit 1 was officially held on November 30, 2017. First concrete for the foundation of Unit 2 was poured on July 14, 2018.
Each construction stage at Rooppur NPP is closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the national nuclear regulator.