Russia begins construction of another nuclear unit at Leningrad plant

Construction workers at the Leningrad nuclear power plant have officially begun building the fourth VVER-1200 unit, marked by the first pour of concrete. The first two units of the plant’s second phase are already in operation, while Russia began construction of the third last year. The units under construction are scheduled for completion in 2030 and 2032, replacing the ageing RBMK reactors in the plant’s first phase.

Russia’s energy company Rosatom announced that it had officially begun construction of another new unit at the Leningrad-II plant. The first concrete pour for the plant’s fourth VVER-1200 unit took place during a ceremony on 20 March.

"This is not just the start of construction of a new unit at Leningrad NPP-2. It is another step towards the country’s main national goal: increasing the share of peaceful nuclear energy in the national energy mix. Rosatom faces significant challenges in this regard," said Andrey Petrov, first deputy director general of Rosatom.

Representatives of Belarus, Egypt and Bangladesh, which have experience building the same type of unit, also took part remotely in the ceremony at the plant, located 35 kilometres from the Russian city of St Petersburg. In Belarus, this refers to the Ostrovets plant (two units commissioned in 2021 and 2023), while the four-unit El Dabaa plant is under construction in Egypt. Bangladesh’s two VVER-1200 units at the Rooppur plant are expected to be commissioned later this year.

Replacing ageing units

In its first phase, built around the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, the Leningrad plant had four RBMK-1000 units. The first two units stopped generating electricity in 2018 and 2020. Rosatom replaced them in the plant’s second, also four-unit phase, by commissioning VVER-1200 reactors: the first in 2018 and the second in 2021.

 "This year, we will begin construction of replacement units at the Smolensk and Kola nuclear power plants and complete engineering surveys for two more units at the Sverdlsk nuclear power plant. Over the next two decades, Rosatom will work at new sites in Siberia, the Urals and the Far East. These new nuclear projects will give more Russian citizens access to clean energy," Petrov added.

The third and fourth units at Leningrad-I will cease operations in 2026 and 2030, respectively. Construction of the third unit at Leningrad-II officially began in March 2024, with commissioning planned for 2030. According to current plans, the fourth unit will begin operating in 2032.