THE 6th unit of Novovoronezh NPP with the first VVER-1200 reactor to be completed was awarded 2017 Top Plant in the nuclear generation category by POWER magazine. Top plants are the innovative and historically important projects that will be of general interest to the power industry. On a par with the 6th unit of Novovoronezh NPP two other winners are Columbia Generating Station in Washington and Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden. Award winners were selected by the editors of POWER.

The Novovoronezh NPP has been the first facility to launch and operate each generation of Water-Water Energetic Reactor (VVER) technology, including the VVER-1200 at Unit 6, the latest iteration of the technology, brought into commercial operation in February 2017. This makes the facility a piece of living nuclear history and an ideal training center for the nuclear industry.

The jury noted that this new VVER-1200 power unit is based on the latest advancements and developments which all comply with all post-Fukushima safety requirements (this is why the unit is considered to be Generation III+ advanced reactor).

Among winning attributes are the uniqueness of the technology, because this reactor is the first and only of its kind, durability because its design life is double that of previous iterations, high effectiveness due to advanced automation features to reduce manpower requirements and its safety due to the unique combination of active and passive safety features. — SG