Russia issues statement on turbine blade issue at Akkuyu: 'It will not malfunction again'

The Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosenergoatom has announced that the issue involving the turbine blades, which are also used at Turkey's first nuclear power plant currently under construction, Akkuyu, has been "completely resolved."

In November 2023, a problem leading to breakage in turbine blades was detected at the Leningrad nuclear power plant near St. Petersburg, Russia.

Due to this unprecedented issue, one of the VVER-1200 type reactors at the plant was shut down.

These reactors, which are also used at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, represent a significant component for Russia's domestic nuclear industry and export markets, and are also planned for use in the Paks-2 plant to be built in Hungary.

'TURBINES WILL OPERATE WITHOUT MALFUNCTION'

Rosenergoatom executive Alexander Shutikov stated in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS that after the unit resumed operation following repairs on January 19, 2024, it was stopped for scheduled maintenance and operated flawlessly until July 2024.

Shutikov stated, "The problem has been completely resolved. We have studied the causes in detail and conducted extensive work on the correct 'blading' of the turbine, that is, the installation of the blades onto the turbine rotor. I am confident that if the procedure for installing the blades onto the turbines is followed correctly, emergency situations will not recur and the turbines will operate without malfunction."

News Source: 12punto