This file is no longer being updated. For information on
developments in the nuclear power industry, please see the
Nuclear
Power Developments section.
Tsimlyanskiy reservoir, 13km from Volgodonsk,
190km from Rostov-na-Donu.
Manager: Vladimir Pogorelyy
Chief Engineer: Petr Golovchenko
VVER-1000 V-320I
Four
950 MWe per unit
On 10 May 2000 Minatom received a license to begin
testing Volgodonsk-1.[1,2] In late October heated tests of the reactor began;
completion of the tests is expected on 1 November. The physical start-up
of the reactor is planned for 21 November, while nuclear fuel will be loaded
into the reactor in the end of December 2000.[3,4] (For more information on construction, see the 7/2000
and 7/18/2000 entries, below; for information on
actions to halt completion of the reactor, see the 6/9/2000
entry, below.) As
for Volgodonsk-2, in March 1996 Nuclear News reported that
it was 30 percent complete.
The same issue states that according
to Minister of Atomic Energy Mikhailov, a VVER-640 is also planned
at Volgodonsk.[5] According to Nuclear
Engineering International, Unit 2 has been proposed and Units 3 and
4 have been indefinitely deferred.[6]
Please click here for a more detailed review
of the status (as of June 1998) of construction
at the Volgodonsk NPP.
(For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file):
9/26/2000: LOCAL PROTESTS WANE AS ROSENERGOATOM
GIVES ROSTOV SPORTS COMPLEX AND CHURCH
On 26 September 2000 a new sports complex was opened a
few kilometers from Rostov NPP. According to Rostov NPP director
Vladimir Pogorelyy, an oblast children's sport school will eventually be built
at the complex. Rosenergoatom president Erik Pozdyshev said that his
company was also paying for construction of a church, which would be opened by
19 December. According to Nezavisimaya gazeta, a number of local
residents who had formerly opposed construction of the nuclear power plant had
become supporters as a result of the sports complex. For information on
earlier protests, see the 6/9/2000
entry, below.
7/18/2000: ROSTOV-1 READY
FOR TESTING
On 18 July 2000 Rosenergoatom announced that a meeting
of the leadership of inspection organizations, Rosenergoatom, and auxiliary
organizations held at Rostov during the week of 10 to 14 July 2000 concluded
that Rostov-1 was ready to begin start-up testing, including tests on hydraulics
and other systems. Meeting participants remarked on the amount of fire protection
work that had been done at the NPP. Fire protection systems are supposed
to be completed before the plant is brought on line on 1 October 2000.
7/2000: UNIFIED ENERGY SYSTEM
PROMISES MONEY FOR ROSTOV NPP CONSTRUCTION
In July 2000, Anatoliy Chubays, head of Unified Energy
System (RAO YeES Rossii) committed his organization to paying 100 million
rubles (about $3.6 million as of 5 July 2000) towards the construction
of Rostov NPP (probably Unit 1). The estimated cost of completing
Unit 1 construction is 4.5 billion rubles (about $160.5 million as of 5
July 2000).
6/9/2000: COSSACKS FIGHT
ROSTOV-1, DEMAND REFERENDUM
On 9 June 2000 Izvestiya reported that Rostov
cossack organizations have requested that the State
Duma sponsor a referendum on the Rostov NPP. In a related move,
Don Cossack Ataman and Rostov Deputy Governor Viktor Vodolatskiy sent a
letter to the Russian president
demanding that the NPP not be brought on line.
7/15/99: NO REFERENDUM TO BE HELD ON CONSTRUCTION
OF ROSTOV NPP
On 15 July the Rostov Oblast Electoral Commission
refused to register an initiative by environmental groups to hold a local
referendum on the construction of the Rostov NPP. The commission
based its refusal on the finding that the construction of nuclear plants
is regulated by federal legislation, and therefore cannot be halted by
a local referendum.
1/11/99: ROSTOV-1 COMPLETION PLANNED FOR 2000
Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov told journalists on 11
January 1999 that Russia intends to finish construction of Rostov-1 by
late 2000.[1] Adamov said it will take another year or year and a half
to complete the second unit.[2] In 1999, Minatom will attach top priority
to resuming the construction of the nuclear power plant (NPP). The construction
cost is estimated at 13.27 billion rubles (approximately $583 million as
of 1 January 1999), of which 10.7 billion rubles (about $470 million as
of 1 January 1999) has been allocated already. Some 900 million rubles
($45 million as of 1 January 1999) has been allocated for the work this
year. To complete work, the project must get an environmental permit, which
the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources could issue to the NPP by 1 July
1999.[1]
7/98: RUSSIA MAY SOON RESUME ROSTOV NPP CONSTRUCTION
After a regional government commission ruled in favor of Rostov NPP development
and presented its conclusions to the Rostov Oblast Legislative Assembly
on 22 July 1998, two thirds of the deputies approved the completion of
the NPP near the town of Volgodonsk.[1,2] The Volgodonsk City Duma also
voted to continue the construction of the NPP.[3] It is expected that the
construction will be resumed soon and could be completed within a year.[2]
9/96: IN WAKE OF PROTESTS, ROSTOV REGION TO HOLD REFERENDUM
Near the end of 9/96, the Rostov region's highest official, Vladimir Chub,
signed a statement declaring that the regional government must conduct
an environmental impact study on the Rostov NPP, and then carry out a referendum
on whether to continue construction of the plant.[1] A protest campaign
began in Volgodonsk, near the power plant, on 8/10/96, organized by an
environmentalist organization called The Rainbow Guards (or Guardians of
the Rainbow).[2,3] The protesters say that given the plant's proximity
to the Don River and the Tsimlyanskoye Reservoir, and its location on a
geological fault, any accident at the station could lead to the contamination
of the area around the Sea of Azov.[2]
8/96: FRENCH EXPERTS INSPECT ROSTOV PLANT
A group of French experts led by the deputy director of Electricite de
France inspected the site of the Rostov NPP and determined that the unfinished
plant meets international standards. Russia hopes to attract foreign investment
to complete construction and bring the plant on line.
3/96: ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP TO INSPECT ROSTOV NUCLEAR PLANT
The Novocherkassk environmental group Zelyonyy Don announced its intention
to conduct an independent examination of the Rostov nuclear power plant.
The results are scheduled to be made public in 4/96. Meanwhile all construction
work on the plant has been suspended.
9/12/94: ROSTOV COURT RULES PREVIOUS STUDY UNUSABLE
The Rostov District Court ruled that the commission that carried out an
inspection of the Rostov nuclear power plant in 7/93 was not a public body
but a contracted company. Thus, its conclusions could not be used to justify
a restart of the nuclear power plant. The goal of the inspection was to
investigate the environmental effects of the plant. Earlier, the Ministry
for the Environment and Natural Resources had accepted the results of the
inspection, which favored the start-up of the plant.
9/14/95: ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY EXPECTED TO OK RESTART
The Ministry of Environment is expected to acquiesce to the start-up of
Rostov power plant operational in the near future, despite strong objections
from environmentalists. The recent pressure is due to the fact that the
construction of Unit 1 has been completed and Unit 1 has gone through a
series of safety checks.
6/28/95: ROSTOV PLANT MAY POSE THREAT TO AREA
The Rostov nuclear power plant is considered "a time bomb" because of its
proximity to the city Volgodonsk and its location in an unstable geological
area on the Tsimlyanskoye reservoir. Despite all of the disadvantages,
the Rostov plant is nearing completion.
4/93: ROSTOV OFFICIALS REQUEST ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION
The Chairman of the Council of Deputies of the Rostov region, Mr. Popov,
and the Head of the Administration, Mr. Chub, sent a letter to the Russian
Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources asking for a state environmental
inspection to evaluate the effects of the Rostov nuclear power plant on
the environment of the region. According to Russian legislation, the start-up
of a nuclear power plant is possible only if such an inspection is called
for by the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources, and the
results demonstrate the acceptability of the project.
Last updated 1 September 2002
For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file.
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS
CNS: Cristina.Chuen@miis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.
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