Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Museum
Location of Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia
Country	Russia
Coordinates	55°05′03″N 36°34′11″E / 55.08417°N 36.56972°E / 55.08417; 36.56972Coordinates: 55°05′03″N 36°34′11″E / 55.08417°N 36.56972°E / 55.08417; 36.56972
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	January 1, 1951
Commission date	June 26, 1954
Decommission date	April 29, 2002
Owner(s)	Rosatom State corporation
Operator(s)	Energoatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	RBMK forerunner
Cogeneration?	yes
Power generation
Units decommissioned	1 x 5 MW
Nameplate capacity	5 MW

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, (Russian: Обнинская АЭС, Obninskaja AES [ pronunciation ]), was built in the "Science City" of Obninsk,Kaluga Oblast, about 110 km southwest of Moscow. It was the first grid-connected nuclear power plant in the world, i.e. the first nuclear reactor that produced commercial electricity, albeit at small scale. It was located at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. The plant is also known as APS-1 Obninsk (Atomic Power Station 1 Obninsk). It remained in operation between 1954 and 2002, although its production of electricity for the grid ceased in 1959; thereafter it functioned as a research and isotope production plant only.

According to Lev Kotchetkov, who was there at the time: "Although utilisation of generated heat was going on, and production of isotopes was even enhanced, the main task was to carry out experimental studies on 17 test loops installed in the reactor." The technology perfected in the Obninsk pilot plant was later employed on a much larger scale in the RBMK reactors.

The single reactor unit at the plant, AM-1 ("Атом Мирный", Atom Mirny, Russian for "Atoms for Peace"), had a total electrical capacity of 6 MW and a net capacity of around 5 MWe. Thermal output was 30 MW. It was a prototype design using a graphite moderator and water coolant. This reactor was a forerunner of the RBMK reactors.