Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located in the town of Sosnovy Bor in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, some 70 kilometers to the west of the city centre of Saint Petersburg. It consists of four nuclear reactors of RBMK-1000 type. These reactors are identical to reactors No. 1 and 2 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Four units of VVER-1200 type are under construction at the same site to replace the current RBMK reactors ( Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant II).

In 1975 there was reportedly a partial meltdown in Leningrad reactor Unit 1 that released 1.5 MCi into the environment.

In March 1992, an accident at the Sosnovy Bor nuclear plant leaked radioactive gases and iodine into the air through a ruptured fuel channel. This was the first accident at the station that was announced in the news media.

In December 2005, a private company reprocessing scrap metal at the facility was operating a non-nuclear smelter, which overheated and exploded spraying molten metal across a large area and starting several fires. Three workers were burned in the explosion, with two experiencing burns over 90 percent of their bodies.

On August 27, 2009 the third unit was stopped when a hole was found in the discharge header of a pump. According to the automated radiation control system, the radiation situation at the plant and in its 30 kilometer monitoring zone was normal. The plant's management refuted rumors of an accident and stated that the third Unit was stopped for a "short-term unscheduled maintenance", with a restart scheduled for 31st August 2009. The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published a short notice on the 29th of August claiming a coolant leak at the plant. The problem is described as serious but without any immediate risk of radiation in the surrounding environment. The article refers to a statement by the Finnish authority Säteilyturvakeskus.

Unit Reactor type Net
capacity
Gross
capacity
Shutdown
Leningrad - 1 RBMK-1000 925 MW 1,000 MW 2018 planned
Leningrad - 2 RBMK-1000 925 MW 1,000 MW 2020 planned
Leningrad - 3 RBMK-1000 925 MW 1,000 MW -
Leningrad - 4 RBMK-1000 925 MW 1,000 MW


Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant
Data
Country Russia
Operator Energoatom
Built March 1, 1970
Start of commercial operation November 1, 1974
Reactors
Reactors active 4 (4,000 MW)
Power
Total power generation in 2006 21,208 GW·h
Average annual generation (last 5 yrs) 22,327 GW·h
Net generation 655,180 GW·h
Status Operating