There is now little left of the Crimean nuclear power plant. There are abandoned and dilapidated buildings on a vast territory. The remains of the workshops are densely covered with grass and trees. Things that had even the slightest value were dug up, torn out and taken away. The nuclear reactor, the shaft lining and the control panel of the nuclear power plant were cut into non-ferrous metal. And if precious metals and equipment were taken first, today you can only profit from iron in concrete slabs.
A hundred meters from the reactor workshop, several people in overalls are monotonously dismantling another building. A tractor demolishes a wall and a crane carries a concrete slab to the ground, where workers break it down. They want to get to the fittings hidden inside. All that was left of the concrete workshop was the foundation and a pile of stone chips. The further fate of the still surviving buildings is frightening in its predictability.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
The huge gray box of the reactor workshop dominates the territory of the facility. The workshop is as tall as two nine-story buildings and more than 70 meters wide and is built on a six-meter foundation. You can enter it through a huge round hole. The metal door, half a meter thick, had been dragged away long ago. There is no radiation danger, since nuclear fuel was not delivered in time. Admission is free, there is no security.
The building accommodates 1,300 rooms, box-like premises of various purposes and, accordingly, sizes. The inside of the boxes is empty and dusty. There are pieces of wires dangling somewhere and trash lying around. Light does not penetrate into the reactor workshop at all. Heavy silence, the belated echo of footsteps and the closed space of the premises thicken the atmosphere. It's unsettling to be here. Random noises are unnerving. Nevertheless, there is no hurry to leave the reactor. This can be described in one phrase: “Terribly interesting.”
“Everything was done slowly in Crimea”
Toropov Vitaly, head of the reactor workshop:— Scientists and specialists have been working on the Crimean nuclear power plant project since 1968. In 1975, a satellite city was founded - Shchelkino, named after the Soviet nuclear physicist. This is the village where nuclear workers and their families were supposed to live. When I arrived in the Leninsky district in June 1981, at the site of the future station, one might say, the wheat was still heading and they were just beginning to dig a foundation pit. I was sent here from the Kola Nuclear Power Plant. After all, in Soviet times it was like this: after studying at the university, you start with the lowest positions, then rise higher. No one would immediately appoint me as the head of the workshop.
According to the plan, the power plant was supposed to be operational in four years and ten months. But management was recruited in advance: senior engineers and heads of four main departments. That was the rule. They had to control the receipt of documentation and equipment, monitor the progress of construction and installation work, and gradually recruit personnel. The salary during this period was, of course, small.
It was important for me to understand the geography of the workshop. When the reactor is operating, you have only a few seconds to avoid receiving a lethal dose of radiation. You need to act instantly, know exactly where each valve is located. Even in complete blackout mode, you must be able to work by touch, like submariners.
The reactor was supposed to be launched in 1986, but due to the low pace of construction it was not completed in time. I associate this with the specifics of Crimea. Everything was done slowly here. For example, they managed to build one kindergarten per year. And it seemed like there was money, but the party doubted it and some party members were against it. And then there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and construction stalled. A wave of discontent arose. Many believed that Crimea would become the second Chernobyl.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
In 1988, I was sent to Cuba, where I worked for three years at the Juragua nuclear power plant. When I returned, the station had already been closed and torn apart. Its readiness was approximately 90 percent. There was less than a year left for installation and commissioning. If they had managed to launch it, the station would not have been closed. In addition, equipment for two more blocks was stored in warehouses. Moreover, the equipment is high quality, with imported parts. If Vladimir Tansky, director of the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant, had taken control of the situation and kept the course of events in check, nothing would have been stolen. It was necessary to wait until the hype about Chernobyl died down and became less loud.
We planned to build four reactor units, each of them would produce one million megawatts. One million was enough for Crimea, so the first block was built to stop the transfer of electricity from the mainland. The second block was needed to provide hot water to Feodosia and Kerch, to rid the peninsula of dependence on coal and boiler houses. Using the third block they wanted to desalinate sea water. The whole world is doing this. We wanted to fill Crimea with fresh water and not depend on it. The fourth block is to sell, to the Caucasus, to earn money.
“The Crimean nuclear power plant was mistakenly compared with Chernobyl”
Anatoly Chekhuta, instrumentation and automation master:— I arrived at the station as soon as they gave me the directions: I wanted to get an apartment early. There might not have been time later. My specialization is the maintenance and operation of various control and measuring equipment. Before that, he worked for ten years at a nuclear power plant in Tomsk. It was a secret facility, and in official documents it was listed as a chemical plant. Upon arrival in Shchelkino, my radiation level was 25 roentgens. Five years later it dropped to 15. Now, probably, there is nothing. Although for a long time the level remained stable at 5 roentgens.
One of the problems with the closure of the Crimean nuclear power plant is the general secrecy. There was not enough publicity. In Soviet times, nothing was disclosed: projects, research, data. When environmentalists raised a wave of indignation in 1986, they had no official information, so they could make any assumptions. Even the most ridiculous ones. As an example, in the event of a nuclear power plant accident with a constant southeast wind, radioactive fallout could fall on Foros. Where Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev vacationed in the summer. As a result, a terrible story was made out of this.
The Crimean nuclear power plant was mistakenly compared to Chernobyl. After all, these are two different types of reactors. In Chernobyl they used RBMK-1000, in Crimea - VVER-1000. I won't go into details. But it’s like heating water over a fire in a pan without a lid or a closed thermal container. The difference is huge.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
The reactor did not produce plutonium, but produced steam. The steam rotated turbines, which produced electricity. If in Chernobyl the RBMK was buried nine floors into the ground, then the Crimean VVER was carefully placed on a small platform. There was a three-stage protection system. The reactor room was covered with a continuous layer of reinforced concrete. In an emergency, the doors were hermetically closed and the air was sucked out of the room. During an explosion in a vacuum, the pressure was zero. So a catastrophe could not happen. By the way, the reactor shop building could withstand a direct collision with a jet plane.
The same pressurized water nuclear reactors are used on submarines. Same type, just smaller. In 1988, there were 350 nuclear-powered boats in the Soviet Union. And so far not a single accident has occurred. From the point of view of physics and design, it is a very reliable device.
Another argument of opponents of construction was the lack of research into the location of the nuclear power plant. Specifically, seismic. Allegedly, the reactor was built on the site of a tectonic fault, and with small underground tremors an accident could occur. But later, in 1989, when independent Italian seismologists arrived, they concluded that it was possible to build at least ten reactors, there was no fault. This means that the Soviet specialists were right, and the location was chosen well. The reactor itself was built to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake. But it was already too late, and the station was closed.
50 tons of steam per hour
Andrey Arzhantsev, head of the heat supply section of the central heat supply complex:— TsTPK is a workshop for thermal and underground communications. Under my leadership there was a start-up and reserve boiler room or PRK. To explain it more simply, the start-up and reserve boiler house consists of four boilers that produced 50 tons of steam per hour. Due to this, hot water and heat were supplied to Shchelkino. Now the city has forgotten such words - “hot water”, but before it was 75 degrees in the tap.
The main purpose of the PRK is the commissioning of turbines and warming up the reactor. Without it, not a single nuclear power plant is built. But having completed its task, the boiler room is dismantled, and, for example, a gym is created on its basis.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
The basic project of the Crimean “atomic” was special. This did not exist anywhere at that time. The turbines had to be cooled with sea water. We planned to take water from the Aktash reservoir and use it as a cooling pond. Water came to Aktash from the Sea of Azov. That is, there was an unlimited supply. As a result, the nuclear power plant produced environmentally friendly energy.
After the closure of the nuclear power plant, Shchelkino is gradually dying out. I think there is no need to explain what happens to a city when it loses its main enterprise. The population dropped from 25 thousand to 11. In terms of intellectual potential, Shchelkino was considered the most developed place in Crimea. Here every second person had two higher educations. Aerobatics specialists from all over the Soviet Union. And instead of the industrial heart of the peninsula, Shchelkino becomes a resort village. What you see now is a tenth of what the city could have become. There are not even streets here, the houses are simply numbered. Among the attractions are the market, the city council and housing and communal services.
Some nuclear workers leave, others stay. Those who had somewhere to return left. Construction of nuclear power plants is being frozen throughout the Union. There was no work. At least there was an apartment here. Of course, no one was working in their specialty anymore. I currently hold the position of director of a boarding house.
“Crimea needs a nuclear power plant”
Sergey Varavin, senior turbine control engineer, director of the Shchelkinsky Industrial Park Management Company:“It’s hard to say who was right and who was wrong then that the Crimean nuclear power plant began to be stolen. The property was redistributed between customers and contractors. About a hundred companies were involved in the construction. Each of them wanted their money back, so the equipment was sold off. In addition, after the collapse of the Union, something was perceived as free, so they carried what they could. There was no high-profile case regarding this, so there is no need to talk about theft. Now it’s impossible to figure it out.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
The lands were redistributed among construction participants. Some people refused plots, others left. Part of the territory remained in the hands of owners and tenants, the rest became the property of the city. It is planned to create an industrial park on the site owned by the City Council. The project began to be created in 2007. But due to lack of funding it was never implemented.
Now the project is included in the Federal Target Program for the Development of Industrial Parks in Crimea. One billion 450 thousand rubles will be allocated for the development of the business plan. Our task is to prepare everything for the future investor. Collect all documents, arrange the territory, create infrastructure, and so on. All that remains is to begin construction. The focus is very different: from a gas turbine station to an agricultural complex.
But ask any operator of our nuclear power plant, and he will answer: “Crimea needs a nuclear power plant.”
“All Crimeans would have cancer”
Valery Mitrokhin, poet, prose writer, essayist, member of the Russian Writers' Union:— Immediately after being accepted as a member of the Writers’ Union, I was sent to the construction of the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. There I am writing a book of essays, “Solar Builders.” Three chapters evoke mixed reactions. They are devoted to problems that could arise as a result of the construction of the station. I was accused of undermining the material condition of the country. About a billion rubles have already been spent on the facility. At the exchange rate at that time, one dollar was equal to 80 kopecks, that is, looked from the bottom up. A lot of money. Therefore, the nuclear power plant is rightfully considered the most expensive unfinished project in the world.
The book about the sun builders was published in 1984. He refused to throw out the chapters, and for this they stopped publishing me for ten years and did not allow me to appear on regional television and radio.
There were problems, the contractors and nuclear workers knew about them. Everyone was silent. When I started digging deeper and communicating with experts, I came across such a volume of information that it was impossible not to write about it. This threatened disaster. If they had built the station even according to all the parameters, a second Chernobyl would have happened.
First, the hired workers were slacking. Some standards were not followed and mistakes were made. For example, the brand of cement was mixed up. If you look at the buildings today, they are crumbling, the concrete is crumbling. And not much time has passed. I saw with my own eyes how they built the “glass” for the reactor. There is no talk of any tightness. There would be leaks. A microscopic hole would be enough to irradiate the soil within a radius of tens of kilometers.
Photo by Oleg Stonko
The second is the specificity of Crimean seismicity. We are shaken every year. The tremors are small, but they are there. And the tectonic fault exists. It runs from the Feodosia Bay to the Kazantip Bay. The two plates are constantly in contact with each other. While the construction of the power plant was underway, not far from the coast, an island appeared and disappeared in the Sea of Azov. A clear confirmation of my argument. It is not clear why seismologists hid such facts.
The third is cooling the turbines using a reservoir. I'll explain it with my fingers. Water enters the station, cools the turbines, returns to Aktash and again to the station. Constantly circulates and gets dirty. To avoid this, they make an exit to the Sea of Azov. Now the water is constantly renewed. But at what cost? Ten years later, Azov turns into a nuclear swamp. The Sea of Azov is connected to the Black Sea. This means that a little later he will suffer the same fate. Next up is the Mediterranean Sea. Not to mention evaporation and precipitation. By this time, all Crimeans would have cancer.
Having learned about everything, I become one of the founders of the environmental movement. I begin to travel around Crimea with my book. Understand that environmentalists did not inflate the problem from scratch, being afraid of Chernobyl. There were complaints. There were no answers. We wanted to save the peninsula. Of course, the project was good, the reactor was excellent and modern, but the location was chosen in the wrong way. I'm sure of this.
In 1990, the film “Who Needs an Atom” was released. We are talking about the use of nuclear energy in the energy sector. It is noteworthy that one of the fragments of the film is dedicated to the problems of the Crimean nuclear power plant. The passage contains two opposing points of view.
Due to energy problems in Crimea, after its annexation to Russia, the question “Will it be completed?” sounds regularly. We decided to consider all the issues related to this situation and assess the need to build a nuclear power plant in Crimea.
The Crimean nuclear power plant will be completed
Articles with headlines confirming Rosatom’s desire to complete the construction of the only nuclear power plant in Crimea near the city of Shchelkino after the republic’s annexation to Russia appeared in almost every publication. However, in reality the situation with the resumption of nuclear power plant construction is not so simple.
Let's start with the history of the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. In short, the station was supposed to become the main supplier of electricity for the growing industry of the Soviet Crimea a couple of decades ago. The first brick for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Crimea was laid in 1975. However, it became one of the key factors in stopping the construction of the almost completed Crimean NPP - the first power unit was 80% ready, the second - 18%. Resumption of construction of the station has not begun since then.
Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. Our days. Photo
The territory of the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant was used for several years to host the Kazantip music festival, which was featured in the filming of the film “Inhabited Island.” And local entrepreneurs lead tours around the territory of the abandoned Crimean nuclear power plant.
Information that the Crimean NPP will be completed was received from Valery Chaly, Deputy General Director of the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research named after Razumkov. This issue, according to him, was raised between Rosatom and the Crimean government. At the same time, Chaly notes that the construction of a nuclear power plant in Crimea will have a negative impact, first of all, on the recreational prospects of the peninsula.
The Crimean nuclear power plant will not be completed
Representatives of Rosatom subsequently denied information about the resumption of construction of a nuclear power plant in Crimea, received by the media from Valery Chaly.
In their opinion, the construction of the Crimean nuclear power plant is inappropriate; it is much more logical to develop thermal energy in the region, as well as alternative energy sources - solar panels, wind energy.
Firstly, the site prepared for the Crimean nuclear power plant in the 1970s does not meet the standards for the construction of modern nuclear power plants. Therefore, it is more logical to build the station in a new location rather than resume construction of the Crimean NPP. Moreover, the original construction site was not chosen the best from a safety point of view.
Abandoned Crimean nuclear power plant. Photo
Secondly, due to the problems of the current relations between Russia and Ukraine, the provision of electricity to Crimea is subject to great risks, since the main supplier at the moment is not the region itself, but Ukraine. Electricity supplies from Russia have still not been established. Due to the need to resolve this issue in a short time, the construction of a nuclear power plant is not the best idea - with an average construction time of 5 years.
Thirdly, as mentioned above, the construction of a nuclear power plant in Crimea will negatively affect its recreational component due to environmental risks.
Construction of a nuclear power plant in Crimea. Current situation. 2015
According to the Crimean government, the construction of nine power plants has begun in the region, and nuclear power plants are not among them. For the most part, these are mobile steam-gas power plants. Also, in the next 3-5 years, it plans to build two additional thermal power plants in Crimea, which should cover all the region’s electricity needs. The Crimean government has no plans to build a new nuclear power plant or resume construction of the Crimean nuclear power plant in Shchelkino.
The Crimean nuclear power plant was never completed. It began to be built in 1975. However, in the late 80s, construction was abandoned. Whether this was influenced by the events in Chernobyl, public protests, or simply problems with financing, now perhaps does not matter. Be that as it may, the almost finished station was abandoned and will never be completed. By the way, not only she was abandoned, there were several more. And everyone's fate is different. Some have been completed, some will be completed, and some have only the foundation left.
But we have a rather rare opportunity to see how it all could have looked, since a number of stations of this type were nevertheless completed.
In the photo - a power unit of the Rivne NPP, and a power unit of the Crimean NPP.
This is what the main control room looks like. If you look closely, you can see that the instrument panels are almost identical. Of course, there were no LCD monitors in the 80s. Probably in their place there was more bulky equipment.
A little theory - how a nuclear power plant works. If you don’t go into details, then everything is banal. In the reactor, uranium atoms constantly fission, resulting in the release of heat that heats the water. This water circulates in a circle (the first circuit) and heats other water outside the reactor (in the second circuit), and this happens inside the steam generators. That, in turn, turns into steam and spins turbines, which spin generators, and they then generate electricity. After passing through the turbines, the steam is further cooled to turn it back into water. For cooling, another circuit with cold water taken from the reservoir is used. This is why most nuclear power plants are built near large bodies of water. The general principle is similar to a conventional thermal power plant, the only difference is that instead of “firewood” a nuclear reaction is used.
Of course, as with everything, it’s simple on the fingers, but in practice everything is incredibly complicated, but I think whoever wants to will get into these jungles himself :)
And here is the diagram, already in relation to the type of reactor in question (VVER-1000). In the center is the reactor itself. Four large cylinders are the steam generators. Conical devices (I circled one of them in red) are pumps that drive water through the primary circuit.
And now, to imagine the scale of the entire structure, here is a photograph of one of these pumps in comparison with a person.
This photo shows the layout of a station of this type:
The cylindrical containment zone, the yellow polar valve, the primary circuit pumps and steam generators are clearly visible. A little man can be seen on the floor above the reactor. To the right of the reactor block is the machine room with turbines.
And this is a real steam generator:
They did not have time to install them at the Crimean nuclear power plant, as well as the reactor. They were brought and laid on the grass. So they lay there until 2005, when two people came with an autogen and turned the reactor into scrap metal in a few days.
However, during construction they managed to install a polar crane. Here it is - a huge colossus under the ceiling of the containment zone, from which the cables hang. This crane could rotate, moving along guides along the station's containment zone. I'm afraid to imagine what a roar there was. With the help of this crane it was planned to install equipment, and in the future, carry out maintenance of the reactor.
Also, during construction, a unique tower crane was used, one of the largest in the world, with a lifting capacity of 240 tons. It stood until the mid-2000s, after which it was sold for scrap. This is the tallest crane in the photo. By the way, please note that the engine block attached to the reactor block was built in the structures, but it is currently completely destroyed.
It should be noted that this is not the only nuclear power plant abandoned during the construction phase.
This is, for example, what the power unit (5 and 6 if I’m not mistaken) of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, unfinished for obvious reasons, looks like.
In addition, it should be noted that cases of construction stoppages occurred not only in the USSR. For example, on March 28, 1979, an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, as a result of which the construction of the Forked River station was first suspended, and subsequently finally terminated.
The unfinished reactor block of the Stendal NPP, East Germany, of the same type as the Crimean NPP, has now been completely dismantled.
Personally, I would not like to give loud assessments to such situations. I think this can already be considered history. That's how it was and nothing could be done. Who knows, maybe it’s for the better, maybe for the worse. If we talk about the current state of affairs, then of course it’s incredibly sad to see how the Crimean nuclear power plant is being destroyed. But, apparently, selling metal is more profitable than, for example, organizing a museum.
Lastly, I’ll give you a photo of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. At this nuclear power plant, as many as 6 power units were built, identical to the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. It is difficult to imagine the scale of this entire enterprise, while the scale of even one block is amazing.
It was not my goal to tell everything - you will find this information yourself if you are interested. I have provided only a small part of the information. Photos of the Crimean (except historical) and Chernobyl nuclear power plants are mine, the rest are taken from various sources. Below I will provide links to them, and to related information, as well as food for thought. Most of the links are from Wikipedia.
UPD: decided to collect information about the real state of unfinished nuclear power plants.
A similar question interested me immediately after visiting the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant several years ago. But then it was difficult to find information on the real state of some nuclear power plants. Now it turned out to be much easier.
Bashkir NPP
Some infrastructure has been built, but construction of the reactor unit (except for the foundation) has not begun. Photo from the mothballed boiler room. On the right you can see the square foundation of the reactor block.
Kostroma NPP/Central NPP
The situation is similar to the previous one, or even worse. Essentially these are just concrete ruins in the forest.
Crimean NPP
See above.
Odessa ATPP
Some infrastructure has been built, but construction of the reactor unit apparently has not begun.
Tatar NPP
Part of the infrastructure has been erected, construction of the reactor unit has begun, but not much has been built; apparently, they have not even gotten to the point of starting construction of the containment zone.
Voronezh AST
Probably the most completed project after the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. There are plans to complete the facility. Currently, it is heavily guarded and funds are allocated for conservation.
Gorky AST
Also, a largely built block. It is located in a protected area, but the internal condition and the severity of the protection are unknown. There are vague plans to convert it into a thermal power plant
Belene Nuclear Power Plant (Bulgaria)
Construction was frozen, then resumed. At the moment the status is unknown, probably frozen again. However, in any case, the readiness of the structures is low.
Zarnowiec Nuclear Power Plant (Poland)
Construction has been frozen and the readiness of the structures is low.
Juragua Nuclear Power Plant (Cuba)
One of the blocks is almost completely built, the second has just begun. These are units of a slightly different type than the Crimean NPP (and most other unfinished nuclear power plants). VVER-440 reactor of lower power. Judging by the photographs from space, the station is of very great interest, and besides, it is most likely not particularly guarded (although God knows what they have there and how). However, unfortunately, due to its remoteness, all this is more theoretical in nature. I'll probably look for more detailed information about this station.
Stendal Nuclear Power Plant (East Germany)
The reactor block was largely built, but was completely dismantled at the end of the 2000s.
The territory of Crimea is a very favorable place for the construction of electric power facilities, since the peninsula is convenient for the construction of large power plants, which will be located far from the “mainland”, but will be able to supply the mainland part of the republic with energy. It was precisely such opinions that led to the start of construction of the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant in 1975.
A little history
Initially, the capacity planned for the project assumed a full supply of electricity to the peninsula, which made it possible to make it independent in terms of energy resources from Ukraine. It was supposed to use uranium-235 as the main fuel, and the standard design envisaged the deployment of 4 VVER-1000 type reactors.
During the Soviet Union, every major construction project was declared a communist strike. A similar situation arose during the construction of a power plant in Crimea. Beginning in 1984, the construction was declared All-Union. At the very beginning of construction, a satellite city was built, the reservoir embankment was strengthened, and auxiliary facilities were erected. Since 1982, the construction of the nuclear power plant itself has been actively carried out. It was reported that according to the schedule, the Crimean nuclear power plant will be completed by 1989.
Changes in the industry: reasons
Everything changed after the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 1986, an explosion occurred that led to the destruction of several power units, the release of large amounts of radioactive particles into the surrounding atmosphere, and the contamination of a large area. From this moment on, it was decided to suspend the construction of unfinished nuclear power plants. Construction of the Crimean nuclear power plant was also stopped at the stage of completion of the first of four reactors.
Reasons for stopping construction
- Unfavorable economic environment in the USSR.
- Theft of materials from suspended enterprises.
During the 90s, the KaZantip festivals, famous and popular among “club” youth, were held in the premises of the unfinished reactor. In the late 90s and early 2000s, a special company was created on the basis of a power plant in Crimea, whose task was to sell off the remaining intact equipment. In total, more than 2 million Ukrainian hryvnia were raised. By the beginning of 2003, all that remained of the station’s property on the enterprise’s balance sheet was an abandoned building and a few outbuildings.
A unique polar crane, which was planned to be used to move cargo inside a power reactor, was used as the basis for base jumping. Subsequently, the crane was sold for a price many times less than the actual price. The end of the station’s existence was its transfer to the Council of Ministers of Crimea in 2004. As planned, the Crimean authorities were supposed to sell the remaining property and use these funds to solve the problems of the peninsula. No one was going to complete the construction of the former strategic facility today.
Today, the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant is under the control of Rosatom and there is talk about writing off the unfinished facility from the republic’s balance sheet, and using the building materials obtained after complete dismantling as materials for the construction of a crossing across the Kerch Strait.
The absence of its own nuclear power plant in Crimea does not mean that the republic has completely lost the ability to independently generate energy. In 2015, it was announced that construction would begin on two thermal power plants on the peninsula, with a total capacity of 940 MW.
Modern power plants in Crimea
The construction of power plants in Crimea is now in full swing, since according to the current schedule, the first power units should be put into operation in 2017, and according to the project, full power is intended to be achieved by 2018. In parallel, it is planned to launch the Kuban-Crimea gas pipeline, which will provide the required level of gas supply to the stations under construction.
The construction of its own power plants in Crimea is an attempt to stop depending on Ukrainian electricity, since the peninsula is 70% dependent on the supply of energy resources of the republic. The missing 880 MW can be replenished by launching new thermal power plants that have increased efficiency, are designed to use less fuel and feature a closed water consumption cycle.
80%, the second - 18%).
| Crimean NPP | |
|---|---|
| A country | USSR USSR→Russia/Ukraine |
| Location | Crimea, Shchelkino |
| Status | unfinished |
| Year of construction start | |
| Commissioning | was planned in |
| Main characteristics | |
| Electric power, MW | 0 (project - 4,000) |
| Equipment characteristics | |
| Main fuel | U 235 |
| Number of power units | 2 (under construction) 4 (planned) |
| Power units under construction | 0 |
| Reactor type | VVER-1000 |
| Operating reactors | 0 |
| Closed reactors | 4 |
| On the map | |
| Media files on Wikimedia Commons | |
History of construction
The first design surveys were carried out in 1968. Construction began in 1975. The station was supposed to provide electricity to the entire Crimean peninsula, as well as create a foundation for the subsequent development of industry in the region - metallurgical, mechanical engineering, chemical. The design capacity of the Crimean NPP is 2 GW (2 power units of 1 GW each) with the possibility of subsequent capacity increase to 4 GW - the standard design provides for the placement of 4 power units with VVER-1000/320 reactors on the station site.
In November 1980, the construction of the nuclear power plant was declared a Republican shock Komsomol construction project, and on January 26, 1984 - an All-Union shock construction project. After the construction of the satellite town of Shchelkino, the reservoir embankment and auxiliary facilities, the construction of the nuclear power plant itself began in 1982. A temporary line was laid from the Kerch branch of the railway, and at the height of construction, two trains of building materials arrived along it per day. In general, construction proceeded without significant deviations from the schedule with the planned launch of the 1st power unit in 1989.
A unique polar crane has already been delivered to the reactor building of the first power unit and installed at the design site.
With the help of this crane, further lifting and transport and construction and installation operations inside the reactor compartment were to be carried out:
- during the construction of a nuclear power plant: operations for moving and storing equipment (reactor parts, steam generator housings, pressure compensator, main circulation pipelines and pumps, etc.), and then installing them at design sites.
- after the launch of the station: carry out transport, technological and repair work to maintain the nuclear reactor.
According to the director of the Rosenergoatom concern, the construction of a new nuclear power plant on the peninsula is futile, and energy can be generated by wind, solar and non-nuclear thermal power plants. It is impossible to restore it from the current state of the Crimean NPP site. It also used a project from the 1960s, whereas now the construction of nuclear power plants is carried out according to projects from the 2000s. Building a completely new nuclear power plant may be more cost-effective than rebuilding an old one, but there are currently no architectural designs for small- and medium-sized nuclear power plants. On the other hand, a nuclear power plant, especially in the context of constant attempts by the Ukrainian authorities to economically block Crimea, would reliably ensure energy autonomy for Crimea.
In February 2016, it was announced that a new industrial park would be built at the site of the nuclear power plant. The State Council of the Republic of Crimea for Property and Land Relations gave consent to the local Ministry of Property to write off the unfinished Crimean nuclear power plant from the balance sheet “through demolition.” At the same time, the construction materials obtained as a result of dismantling the facility are planned to be used for the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait.
- The Crimean nuclear power plant was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most expensive nuclear reactor [ ] . This is due to the fact that, unlike the Tatar NPP and the Bashkir NPP of the same type that were stopped at the same time, it had a higher degree of readiness at the time construction was stopped.
- In 1986, an experimental (the first in the USSR) solar power plant SES-5 was built nearby. Near it, on the eastern part of the shore of the Aktash reservoir, there is also an experimental wind power plant Yuzhenergo and eight old non-working experimental wind turbines installed back in Soviet times. Not far from it is the East Crimean Wind Farm, consisting of 15 wind turbines with a capacity of 100 kW and two with a capacity of 600 kW each.
- The nuclear power plant has an almost complete “twin” - the abandoned, unfinished Stendal nuclear power plant, 100 km west of Berlin in Germany, built according to the same Soviet project from 1982 to 1990. By the time construction stopped, the readiness of the first power unit of the Stendal NPP was 85%. Its only significant difference from the Crimean Nuclear Power Plant is the use of cooling towers rather than a reservoir for cooling. By 2010, the Stendal nuclear power plant was almost completely dismantled. A pulp and paper mill was opened on the territory of the former nuclear power plant; the cooling towers were dismantled in 1994 and 1999. With the help of excavators and heavy construction equipment, the dismantling of the reactor workshops is being completed.
- The nuclear power plant has been featured in many films, the most famous of which was “The Inhabited Island” by F. Bondarchuk, which was filmed there in 2007 ( photo of the station in a film frame (undefined) (unavailable link). Archived from the original on September 29, 2015.).
Information about power units
| Power unit | Reactor type | Power | Start construction |
Network connection | Commissioning | Closing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean | Gross | ||||||
| Crimea-1 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1000 MW | 01.12.1982 | |||
| Crimea-2 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1000 MW | 1983 | Construction stopped 01/01/1989 | ||
| Crimea-3 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1000 MW | Construction has not started | |||
| Crimea-4 | VVER-1000/320 | 950 MW | 1000 MW | Construction has not started | |||
see also
Notes
- This geographical feature is located on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula, most of which is the subject of territorial disputes between Russia, which controls the disputed territory, and Ukraine, within whose internationally recognized borders the disputed territory is located. According to
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