Ukraine’s Rovno-3 Shuts Down As Operators Prepare For Lifetime Extension

6 Dec (NucNet): Unit 3 at the four-unit Rovno (also known as Rivne) nuclear power station in Ukraine will be shut down on 8 December 2017 for preventive maintenance expected to last 240 days as operators prepare the unit for a lifetime extension, state nuclear operator Energoatom said in a statement. The company said work will include major refurbishment and repair work to the steam generators, the pressuriser, the turbines and the generator. Work will also be carried out on equipment that forms the plant’s safety trains, three separate systems that consist of safety related instrumentation and control hardware and software.Rovno-3 is a 950-MW Russia-supplied VVER-320 reactor unit. It began commercial operation in May 1987. Earlier this year Energoatom said it was carrying out a series of activities at Rovno-3 to improve safety and prepare the unit for a possible lifetime extension. The operational licence of Rovno-3 expires at the end of this month. Energoatom said a “large amount” of the work being carried out at Rovno-3 is connected to plans to extend its operational lifetime.