- Status
- Closed
Objectives
Novovoronezh NPP, located in the Voronezh region of Russia, comprised 5 power units. Units 1 and 2 were VVER-210 and VVER-365 respectively. These were prototype VVER reactors and they operated from 1964 and 1969 until they were shutdown in 1984 and 1990, respectively. Units 3 and 4 were VVER-440, model 179 reactors. These were the first-of-a-kind VVER-440 reactors and were forerunners of the standard series VVER-440 model 230. They started operation in 1971 and 1972, respectively. Unit 5 was a VVER-1000 model 187, which again was the prototype VVER-1000. It started operation in 1980. Units 3, 4 and 5 were still in operation at the time of this contract.
In the framework of the “TACIS 2000 Nuclear Safety Programme” the European Commission (EC) signed a consulting contract with the company Kernkraftwerk Gundremmingen GmbH (KGG) to continue the on-site assistance and safety improvement of Novovoronezh NPP. The main objective of the contract was to improve the nuclear safety of the NPP by transferring know-how to the End User staff and by carrying out specific safety-related projects which included the supply of equipment and/or spare parts and their installation at the NPP.
The objective of the present contract was to provide operational safety experience exchange to the NPP as well as the necessary services related to supply projects started under the TACIS 97 programme. A few remaining activities related to the TACIS 96 equipment supply projects were also covered.
The objectives of the operational safety experience exchange was to demonstrate EU best operational safety practices and their impact on plant operation safety to experts and operational staff of the NPP.
The equipment supply projects for Novovoronezh NPP programmed in the TACIS 97 programme and the status of their implementation at the start of the present contract were as follows:
- R1.07/97A: Spare parts for Unit 5
Technical Specification prepared and tendering in progress. - R1.07/97B: Steam Generator Feedwater Control Valves
Technical Specification prepared and tendering in progress. - R1.07/97C: High Pressure Boron Injection System
Tender Dossier and Technical Specification under review by the EC - R1.07/97D: Emergency Feedwater System
Tender Dossier and Technical Specification under review by the EC - R1.07/97E: Replacement of the Reactor Control and Protection System
Technical Specification prepared and tendering in progress.
According to the contract, the Consultant had to provide the EC with the following services:
- Tender evaluations.
- Follow-up of manufacturing, testing and training.
- Follow-up of delivery, installation and acceptance testing at site.
- Assistance during commissioning, provisional acceptance, first time use, warranty follow-up and final acceptance.
Results
The contract with KGG was signed on 10th March 2003 and ended on 10th May 2007.
In the area of operational safety experience exchange the following exchanges were held:
- Several twinning meetings at Gundremmingen and Novovoronezh NPPs, exchanging information on:
waste processing after decommissioning, decontamination, radiological protection.
radiation safety, labour and health protection, nuclear fuel monitoring, maintenance planning.
QA Programme, Water treatment plant operation, outage optimisation and extending the period between outages.
Risk analysis and management
- Procurement seminar at NvNPP to familiarise NvNPP staff with EC procurement procedures.
The progress achieved on the different equipment supply projects was as follows:
- R1.07/97A: Spare parts for Unit 5
Due to the long delays that had been accumulated on the project in the past, the EC decided to cancel a large number of TACIS 97 projects and re-programme them in the TACIS 2003 programme. The Consultant made minor adjustments to the Technical Specification and the project was tendered. Only two of the five lots could be contracted. Manufacturing was underway at the conclusion of the present contract. See the separate summaries under projects R1.07/03A Lot 1 (contract 108096) and Lot 4 (contract 108127).
- R1.07/97B: Steam Generator Feedwater Control Valves
As for the above project this one was also re-programmed in the TACIS 2003 programme. Manufacturing was underway at the conclusion of the present contract. See the separate summary under project R1.07/03B (contract 76768).
- R1.07/97C, D and E
Due to an original underestimation of the budget required for these projects, the EC decided to proceed with project E only (Replacement of the Reactor Control and Protection System) programmed under the TACIS 2000 programme (R1.07/00A). Project C was cancelled and project D was re-programmed under the TACIS 2004 programme (R1.07/04D). Project E was successfully tendered and contracted, but unfortunately a serious dispute arose between the Contractor and Beneficiary and the Contractor chose to terminate the contract (see separate summary for contract 30565). For project D, it was necessary to make significant changes to the Technical Specifications before the project could be tendered. Tendering finally took place in the winter of 2006/7. At the conclusion of the present contract, the tender evaluation had just been completed and the contract signature process was underway.
The activities related to the further follow-up of the equipment supply projects R1.07/03A, 03B and 04D were performed in the framework of the follow-on contract for On-Site Assistance to Novovoronezh NPP.