Novovoronezh NPP Unit 6 Exceeds 79 Billion kWh in a Decade of Operation

Since Unit 6 of Russia's Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant was first connected to the grid in 2016, it has delivered over 79 billion kWh of electricity to the Unified Energy System of Russia. The unit is the world's first Generation "III+" nuclear power unit equipped with a VVER-1200 reactor, and also the first new nuclear unit built from scratch in Russia under the "NPP-2006" project.

The Novovoronezh NPP currently operates four units, namely Units 4, 5, 6, and 7. Unit 6 accounts for 31.2% of the plant's total electricity generation from operating units. The unit entered commercial operation in February 2017. Its construction began in 2007, with about 200 contracting organizations involved in the project.

According to Rosatom, the commissioning of Unit 6 has demonstrative significance for the expansion of its subsequent overseas projects. The unit features a design combining active and passive safety systems, equipped with a core melt catcher and a passive residual heat removal system. The design incorporates safety requirements established after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Compared with the previous generation of units, the reactor plant of Unit 6 has a 20% higher electrical output, and its design service life has been extended from 30 to 60 years, with the potential for a further 20-year life extension.

Over the past decade, Unit 6 of the Novovoronezh NPP has implemented and applied a number of technological improvements. The unit became the first VVER-1200 to implement an 18-month fuel cycle, with the refueling interval adjusted from once a year to once every 18 months, increasing electricity generation by more than 11%. Currently, the unit's operation is also supported by an operator information support system that provides alerts on operational deviations and predicts changes in operating conditions over the next half hour.

The unit is also involved in testing advanced fuel assemblies and in technical work related to the closed nuclear fuel cycle. In 2025, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted an Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission at Unit 6 of the Novovoronezh NPP and confirmed that its safety level meets the relevant requirements.

Located on the banks of the Don River, about 45 km south of Voronezh, the Novovoronezh NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Russia to use VVER-type reactors. A total of seven VVER units have been built and commissioned at the site, among which Units 3, 5, and 6 are important prototypes of the VVER-440, VVER-1000, and VVER-1200 series, respectively. Currently, Units 4, 5, 6, and 7 at the site remain in operation.