REACTOR INSTALLATION Russian Federation

In early 2000, 433 nuclear power reactors (349 GW ) were in operation 120 (108 GW ) in North America including the US, 3 ( 2 GW in South America, 2 ( 2 GW ) in Africa, 169 (146 GW ) in Europe, including the Russian federation, and 90 (66 GW ) in the Far East (mainly Japan). Presently 37 power reactors ( 31 GW ) are under construction, the majority in the Far East and most of the rest in Europe. As small old nuclear power plants are shut down and replaced by bigger new ones, the number of reactors may remain constant in a geographic area, or even decrease slightly, although the total installed nuclear g erating capacity often continues to increase. 

The SVBR-75/100 (ANNEX XIX) is a modular multi-purpose lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor of 75 to lOOMW(e), offering a refuelling interval of 6 to 9 years. The design is backed by the experience of 50 years in design and operation of reactor installations with lead-bismuth coolant for nuclear submarines, available in the Russian Federation. Specifically, the marine prototypes of the SVBR-75/100 have achieved a total of 80-years of operating experience. 

Radiation safety of a nuclear power plant with the VBER-150 reactor installation meets the requirements enforced in the Russian Federation for limiting the irradiation impacts on personnel, population and the environment during operation, including the abnormal operation occurrences and accidents and a severe accident with fuel damage. 

In all aforementioned options, the nuclear technology itself, including the factory-fuelled reactor installation delivery, maintenance, and spent fuel management would be controlled by the Russian Federation. 

The production of the ABV reactor installations would make use of the fabrication technologies commercially mastered in the Russian Federation, such as ... 

In addition to this, a unified nuclear propulsion and power complex consisting of nuclear ships and floating cogeneration plants based on a common type of reactor installation and supported by a common maintenance infrastructure could effectively solve the problems of energy supply to autonomous consumers, such as those in the North-eastern regions of the Russian Federation, at minimum cost. 

Abstract The paper presents an overview of the projects of reactor installations with small modular lead-bismuth cooled reactors SVBR-75/100. The R D performed in the Russian Federation has demonstrated technical feasibility and potential economic competitiveness of the SVBR-75/100 reactor installations for nuclear power systems of both near and far future. In its present design, the reactor implements a conservative approach thoroughly based on 80 reactor-year experience in the operation of small lead-bismuth cooled reactors for nuclear submarines. Further on, upon construction and successful operation of an SVBR-75/100 demonstration prototype, more innovative approaches to reactor design could be gradually validated and implemented. Modular structure of nuclear steam supply system of a power unit with SVBR-75/100 reactor installations makes it possible to reduce the NPP construction period and, in the future, to make a transfer to standardized design of power units of different capacity on the basis of serially produced reactor modules. Such approach would assure competitiveness of the NPPs not only in electricity markets but in investment markets as well. It is shown efficient to use SVBR-75/100 reactor installations for renovation of the second unit of the Novovoronezhskaya NPP in the Russian Federation. It could also be envisaged that SVBR-75/100, a reactor that meets the requirements to nuclear power systems of the 2U century, will provide a basis for launching collaborative international project. 

The highlighted options could be facilitated by the construction of SVBR-75/100 prototype plant. It will be efficient to use SVBR-75/100 reactor installations for renovation of the second unit of the Novovoronezhskaya NPP in the Russian Federation. 

According to the European Nuclear Society, as of the year 2012, there were 435 nuclear power plants operating around the world. With an installed electric net capacity of about 368 GW, these reactors were running in 31 countries. The country with the largest nuclear capacity is the United States with 104 power reactors followed by France (58), Japan (50, though by May 2012, all of these had been temporarily taken out of commission because of concern over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident), and the Russian Federation (33). As of 2012, there were 63 nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 61 GW under construction in 15 countries. 

---