2 Jul: Russia’s state nuclear operator Rosenergoatom has been granted a licence by regulator Rostekhnadzor to operate the Kola-1 nuclear power unit in the north of the country for an additional 15 years until 2033.
In a statement on its website, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said this is the first time a nuclear power plant in Russia has been given such an extension.
In April 2018 Rosenergoatom said it had begun an extensive refurbishment and modernisation programme at Kola-1, a 411-MW VVER which began commercial operation in December 1973. The work was scheduled to take about six months, Rosatom said at the time.
The Kola station, 200 km south of the city of Murmansk on the shore of Imandra Lake, generates about 60% of electricity in the Murmansk region, Rosatom said. All four units at Kola are Soviet-designed pressurised water reactors. Units 1 and 2, of the older V-230 model, began commercial operation in the mid-1970s and Units 3 and 4, of the newer V-213 model, in the mid-1980s.