Power utility Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) connected a new unit at the Mochovce nuclear power plant (NPP) to the electricity grid for the first time at 8.41 p.m. on Thursday (15 October).
Through a process known as synchronisation, the first turbogenerator at Mochovce's fourth unit was aligned and connected to the grid, supplying its first megawatt-hours of electricity.
"For the first time in history, Mochovce's fourth unit is supplying electricity to Slovakia's power grid. This is a moment that generations of people who helped to prepare, build and commission this project have been waiting for. Today we can see the result of their work in the form of a new low-emission source of electricity for Slovakia," stated SE general director Branislav Strýček.
Grid synchronisation took place at 20 percent of reactor power. The power plant connected the first of its two turbogenerators to the grid. The fourth unit has two turbogenerators and a total installed electrical capacity of 471 megawatts. Once fully operational, it's expected to generate some 3.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually, equivalent to about 13 percent of Slovakia's current consumption.
"In the unit's supervision room, operators regulate the reactor's power output and monitor the functioning of the steam generators, turbine and generators. Electricians then provide a safe connection to the grid. Today's milestone took only a short time, but it was made possible only through the perfectly coordinated work of many different professions," stated Martin Mraz, project director for Mochovce Units 3 and 4.
The initial synchronisation with the grid doesn't mark the completion of the unit's commissioning process. This will be followed by the synchronisation of the second of the two turbogenerators, and then by further prescribed tests conducted at progressively higher output levels.
With a 66-percent share of Slovakia's total electricity generation, SE is the largest electricity producer in the country. Following the decommissioning of the last coal-fired power plant at the end of the first quarter of 2024, the company now generates all its electricity without direct carbon-dioxide emissions. SE currently operates five nuclear units, 31 hydro-power plants and two photovoltaic power plants.
Source: TASR
