Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant
# Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

Balakovo nuclear power station (Russian: Балаковская АЭС, romanized: Balakovskaya AES [pronunciation (help·info)]) is located in the city of Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) south-east of Moscow. It consists of four operational reactors; a fifth unit is still under construction. Owner and operator of the nuclear power station is Rosenergoatom.

Balakovo NPP participates in a twinning program between nuclear power stations in Europe and Russia; since 1990 it has been in partnership with Biblis Nuclear Power Plant.

## Reactor data

The Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant has four operating units:

| Unit | Reactor type | Net capacity | Gross capacity | Construction started | Electricity grid | Commercial operation | Shutdown |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Balakovo-1 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1980-12-01 | 1985-12-28 | 1986-05-23 | 2045 planned |
| Balakovo-2 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1981-08-01 | 1987-10-08 | 1988-01-12 | 2043 planned |
| Balakovo-3 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1982-11-01 | 1988-12-25 | 1989-04-08 | 2048 planned |
| Balakovo-4 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1984-04-01 | 1993-05-12 | 1993-12-22 | 2053 planned |
| Balakovo-5 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1987-04-01 | - | - | Construction suspended 1992-12-28 |
| Balakovo-6 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1,000 MW | 1988-05-01 | - | - | Construction suspended 1992-12-28 |

In 2018 Rosatom announced it had developed a thermal annealing technique for reactor pressure vessels which ameliorates radiation damage and extends service life by between 15 and 30 years. This had been demonstrated on unit 1.

## Gallery

* Interior View
* Steam Turbine Maintenance
* Reactor under Construction
* Aerial View
* Distribution Station
* Control Room
* Steam Generator Transport
* Unit 5 Construction

## Incidents

On 27 June 1985 during startup of the first reactor unit, a human error (later attributed to inexperience and haste) unexpectedly opened a pressurizer relief valve, and 300 °C (572 °F) steam entered the staff work area. Fourteen people were killed. This event is cited as one of the predecessors of the Chernobyl disaster.

