Uranium loaded into Rooppur reactor, Bangladesh moves towered nuclear power generation
The use of nuclear fuel, or uranium, has begun in the reactor of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna. The fuel loading was inaugurated this Tuesday afternoon under tight security. Through this, Bangladesh has become the world’s 33rd country to use nuclear energy.
Science and Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam attended the inauguration ceremony of the fuel loading.
He said, “Today is a historic moment. The project has been implemented with the highest priority given to safety. With the fuel loading today, Bangladesh has become part of history. Electricity from the nuclear power plant will play a significant role not only in Pabna but also in the country’s socio-economic development.”
After the event, the guests inaugurated the fuel loading by pressing an automated switch.
Prime Minister’s Science and Technology Affairs Adviser Rehan Asif Asad and Director General of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev also spoke the event while Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, joined the event virtually.
Once uranium fuel is placed inside the reactor vessel, it will generate heat. That heat will produce steam from water, which will rotate turbines to generate electricity. Fuel loading into the reactor vessel of the first unit of the power plant in Rooppur began today.
According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, this is the final stage before starting commercial electricity generation. Power generation will begin gradually on a trial basis. About 300 megawatts of electricity may be supplied to the national grid by August.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is the largest single project in the country’s history. The project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Under this project, two units of 1,200 megawatts each are being constructed by Russia’s contractor Atomstroyexport.
The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission said that after nuclear fuel arrived at the project site in October 2023, the Rooppur plant was recognised as a nuclear installation. Bangladesh was included in the list of nuclear energy–owning countries as soon as the fuel was received. Today marks the beginning of the use of that energy.
Earlier, on 28 September 2023, the first shipment of nuclear fuel arrived in Dhaka from Russia by air. Several more shipments followed. Under special security arrangements, the fuel was transported by road to Rooppur in October, where it had since been stored.