Argentina and Russia starting up nuclear reactors in 2014 and Russia has $100 billion in nuclear reactor orders

1. Argentina’s newest nuclear power reactor, Atucha 2, is expected to reach criticality and be connected to the grid within sixty days. It is a 745 MWe pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) with borated heavy water.

2. Russia should start up three new reactors this year at home, and another in India, said state company Rosatom in an official meeting with prime minister Dmitry Medvedev. The company said its order book for the next ten years is approaching $100 billion.

Kiriyenko hopes that three new nuclear units could be brought online in Russia this year. First should be Rostov 3, a VVER-1000 pressurized water reactor, where criticality should be achieved in October and first power in December.

At the Novovoronezh Phase II unit 1, criticality should come around December, said Kiriyenko. This unit is the first of the new VVER-1200 design, which Russia wants to deploy in large numbers: three more VVER-1200s are under already construction and another 14 planned in the timeframe to 2030.

Also this year the long-running project to construct Beloyarsk 4, a BN-800 fast reactor, is due to be complete. Fuel is already being loaded there and it could achieve criticality in December.

This trio of new nuclear units in Russia should complemented by the start-up of Kudankulam 2, which Rosatom has been building at the southern tip of India with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. The schedule for this, ‘is more defined by the customer,’ said Kiriyenko, ‘but we understand the precise work we must complete.’

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