Soviet scientists were among the first to think about the peaceful use of nuclear energy. In May 1950, the USSR government issued a decree on the construction of a nuclear power plant. Dmitry Blokhintsev, a Soviet physicist, professor at Moscow State University, Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, was appointed to lead the work. The construction of the world’s first nuclear power plant was entrusted to the secret Laboratory B. The design of a thermal neutron channel-type uranium reactor, with graphite deceleration and water cooling, was approved for construction.
In 1951, construction of the world’s first nuclear power plant started near Obninskoye station in Kaluga Oblast, on the site of the village of Pyatkino. The work was carried out in strict secrecy, each employee was carefully vetted, and important terms in documents were replaced with special words. The facility was erected within a short period of time — three years. On June 26, 1954, the first power start-up of a nuclear power plant in the world was carried out. The project manager Dmitry Blokhintsev wrote in the operational log, “17:45. Steam is fed to the turbine”.
Academician Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov attended the launch ceremony. He congratulated all the participants in the historic event: “Happy steam!” The next day, the Obninsk nuclear power plant was connected to the grid. That day, June 27, 1954, is considered to be the beginning of atomic power industry. It was a world-class event: electric current was produced by fission of uranium nuclei. The news hit the front page of all national newspapers and spread around the world.
The thermal capacity of the world’s first nuclear power plant was small because its reactor was experimental. A nuclear power plant is a cost-effective and, in the absence of accidents, environmentally friendly way of producing electricity. In order to produce the same power a thermal power plant burns 100 tons of coal per day with the emission of combustion products into the atmosphere, while a nuclear power plant uses only 30 grams of uranium.
The launch of the world’s first nuclear power plant triggered new discoveries. The plant’s reactor became one of the main research bases. Crews of the first nuclear submarines and the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin were trained there. The world’s first nuclear power plant was in operation for almost 48 years, the reactor was shut down on April 29, 2002.
In 1951, construction of the world’s first nuclear power plant started near Obninskoye station in Kaluga Oblast, on the site of the village of Pyatkino. The work was carried out in strict secrecy, each employee was carefully vetted, and important terms in documents were replaced with special words. The facility was erected within a short period of time — three years. On June 26, 1954, the first power start-up of a nuclear power plant in the world was carried out. The project manager Dmitry Blokhintsev wrote in the operational log, “17:45. Steam is fed to the turbine”.
Academician Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov attended the launch ceremony. He congratulated all the participants in the historic event: “Happy steam!” The next day, the Obninsk nuclear power plant was connected to the grid. That day, June 27, 1954, is considered to be the beginning of atomic power industry. It was a world-class event: electric current was produced by fission of uranium nuclei. The news hit the front page of all national newspapers and spread around the world.
The thermal capacity of the world’s first nuclear power plant was small because its reactor was experimental. A nuclear power plant is a cost-effective and, in the absence of accidents, environmentally friendly way of producing electricity. In order to produce the same power a thermal power plant burns 100 tons of coal per day with the emission of combustion products into the atmosphere, while a nuclear power plant uses only 30 grams of uranium.
The launch of the world’s first nuclear power plant triggered new discoveries. The plant’s reactor became one of the main research bases. Crews of the first nuclear submarines and the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin were trained there. The world’s first nuclear power plant was in operation for almost 48 years, the reactor was shut down on April 29, 2002.
