Choice of the unit power-generating capacity of a nuclear power plant

A characteristic of the present status of nuclear power in Russia is that in the next few years it will be necessary to make basic technological and economic decisions that will have long-term consequences. These decisions must concern all aspects of the nuclear-power complex. Specifically, at the present time there is no validation of the present and future requirements for the capacity of serially manufactured power-generating units of nuclear power plants with VVER or fast reactors. The problem of choosing the unit capacity of a nuclear power plant must be examined taking account of different factors and not solely from the standpoint of minimizing the capital and operational components of the cost of electricity. The main objective of this work was to develop recommendations for validating the optimal capacity of powergenerating units in nuclear power plants (capital costs, construction time, harm due to unanticipated stoppage of the power-generating units, unification, manufacturing quality, harm due to accidents, and so forth), the possibilities of electric grids, and the regional demand for electricity.