Another new Russian nuclear powerplant comes online

[FarCenter]

The newly-built Kalinin-4 nuclear power plant northwest of Moscow has achieved criticality, according to plant owner Rosenergoatom, some two weeks after completion of fuelling was achieved. The new power unit is expected to go into service shortly, and will become Russia's 33rd operational nuclear power plant and the fourth new one to come online since 2001.

At present, Russia has some 23 gigawatts of nuclear electricity generation, as compared to just over 10 gigawatts for the UK (though the UK economy is half again the size of Russia's) and 100 gigawatts for the USA (with an economy 10 times the size of Russia). In the US and UK nuclear construction has long been effectively stalled – though perpetually planned to resume – but in Russia construction has proceeded at a rapid pace over the last decade.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/11/kalinin_4_criticality/