The Leningrad 2 nuclear power station on the Gulf of Finland in western Russia. Courtesy Rosatom. The Leningrad 2-2 nuclear power plant in Sosnovy Bor, western Russia, has reached 100% of its design power level as testing continues ahead of commercial operation, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

Rosatom said the VVER-1200 Generation III+ pressurised water reactor reached maximum power levels on 3 January 2020 at 14:10 local time.

Leningrad 2-2 has a gross electrical capacity of 1,150 MW, according to data by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The unit was connected to Russia’s power grid on 22 October 2020 and started to deliver electrical energy for the first time. Construction began in April 2010.

Leningrad 2-2, north of St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, will replace Leningrad-2, a 925-MW Soviet-designed light-water graphite reactor, or RBMK, which was permanently shut down in November 2020.

The expected commissioning of Leningrad 2-2 will mean Russia’s fleet of Generation III+ units will increase to four. The others are Leningrad 2-1, Novovoronezh 2-1 and Novovoronezh 2-2.

According to International Atomic Energy Agency statistics, Russia has 38 nuclear power reactors in operation and three under construction. Russia officially says it has 37 plants in commercial operation, but it has not yet included Leningrad 2-2 in that total.

In 2019 the nuclear fleet provided almost 20% of the country’s electricity production share.