Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

About Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant:

• It is a nuclear power plant under construction in Iswardi, Pabna District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh.
• It will be Bangladesh’s first source of nuclear power.
• Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) is the owner of the Rooppur nuclear plant.
• It features two VVER-1200 reactors, created by Russian company Rosatom.
• Construction of both water-cooled reactors began in November 2017.
• Once completed, the two reactors at the Rooppur site, some 160 kilometres northwest of the capital, Dhaka, will generate 2400 megawatts of power, providing approximately 9 percent of Bangladesh's total electricity needs.
• The total estimated cost of the Rooppur nuclear plant is $12.65 billion US dollars.
• The construction is largely funded by a loan from Russia, to be paid back over 20 years.

Q1: What is Nuclear Energy?

Nuclear energy is a form of energy released from the nucleus, the core of atoms, made up of protons and neutrons. This source of energy can be produced in two ways: fission – when nuclei of atoms split into several parts – or fusion – when nuclei fuse together.

Source: Bangladesh initiates investigation into Russia-backed Rooppur nuclear project