The Russian floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) has been officially put into commercial operation. The corresponding order was signed by the Director General of JSC Concern Rosenergoatom (part of the state corporation Rosatom) Andrei Petrov.
The FNPP consists of coastal infrastructure and the Akademik Lomonosov floating power unit (PEM).
“From today, the project for the construction of a floating nuclear power plant in the city of Pevek, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug can be considered successfully completed. Now it has become a full-fledged 11th industrially operated nuclear power plant in Russia and the northernmost in the world, ”Rosenergoatom press service quoted Petrov as saying.
On Thursday, May 21, the commission of the Far Eastern Department of Rostekhnadzor summed up the station’s inspection by transmitting to Rosenergoatom a certificate confirming that the FNPP was built in accordance with the requirements of project documentation.
In addition, the company received a positive opinion from Rosprirodnadzor. According to the conclusion of the inspection bodies, the station fully complies with the applicable standards and rules, including sanitary-epidemiological, environmental and firefighters.
“This is the first such nuclear power plant in the world. It is able to supply electricity to a city with a population of about 100 thousand people. I was at this station - it is amazing. Putting it into operation is a landmark breakthrough. Nobody has done anything like this before, ”Viktor Boyarsky, a polar explorer, Ph.D.
According to him, such installations are a safe and environmentally friendly source of energy.
- The floating energy block "Academician Lomonosov"
- © Pavel Lvov / RIA News
“Nuclear energy is the most environmentally friendly; it is most suitable for the Arctic. As for safety, I can say that such reactors have been working on icebreakers and submarines for more than a dozen years. This is a proven technology, the security system has been tested with a large margin, ”the expert explained.
“Based on Russian technologies”
The floating power unit was laid in 2007 at the Sevmash Production Association (Severodvinsk), but a year later the contract was transferred to Baltic Shipyard Shipbuilding LLC, located in St. Petersburg. The customer was Rosenergoatom Concern JSC.
The FNPP is designed for year-round power supply to the remote regions of the Arctic and the Far East, providing energy to settlements, large industrial enterprises, including mining companies, and complexes for the extraction and processing of oil and gas offshore.
According to the company, the FNPP will replace the Bilibino NPP that has been operating since 1974 and the Chaun TPP, built in 1944. Their decommissioning will be synchronized with the launch of the floating station.
The Akademik Lomonosov SEB is equipped with two KLT-40S reactors with an electric capacity of 35 MW each. This power plant was developed at the OKBM named after I.I. Afrikantov. Previously, she worked well on nuclear icebreakers in the Arctic.
The length of the floating power unit reaches 140 m, the width is 30 m, the displacement is 21.5 thousand tons. According to the creators of the station, its service life is designed for at least 40 years.
In September 2019, Rosenergoatom announced that Akademik Lomonosov had successfully docked at its main base, the city of Pevek, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. To do this, he had to overcome the path from Murmansk with a length of 9 thousand km. A solemn ceremony was held on the occasion of the arrival of the power unit in Pevek.
“I especially want to note that the floating power unit is built on the basis of Russian nuclear shipbuilding technologies, taking into account the many years of experience in operating nuclear power plants of atomic icebreakers in the harsh conditions of the north,” Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of the Northern Sea Route Directorate of Rosatom, said during the ceremony .
According to him, the floating power unit is a unique energy source that is able to provide energy to industrial enterprises, port cities, and oil and gas production and processing complexes on the Northern Sea Route.
“A stable and environmentally friendly energy supply of the northern territories is one of the most important components of the successful development of the NSR,” said Ruksha.
The fact that such FNPPs in the future will contribute to the development of the Northern Sea Corridor, said Victor Boyarsky.
“This is a pilot project, and then other similar stations will appear. They will be used on the Northern Sea Route in those places where it is necessary to provide the population with heat and light. FNPPs will replace existing coal-fired thermal power plants, which no longer correspond to modern parameters. And new nuclear facilities will contribute to improving the quality of life of our people, ”he said.
A similar point of view is shared by the deputy director of the Institute of National Energy Alexander Frolov.
“Our country faces a strategic task - the development of the Northern Sea Route and Arctic natural resources, primarily hydrocarbon raw materials. Such nuclear power plants may be indispensable for the implementation of these plans, ”he said in an interview with RT.
In December 2019, the company reported that electricity began to flow from the FNPP to the isolated network of the Chaun-Bilibino energy center in Chukotka. Since then, the station has already generated over 47.3 million kWh of electricity. Currently, it provides 20% of the needs of the Chaun-Bilibino energy center, according to a press release from Rosenergoatom. As the Bilibino NPP is decommissioned, this figure will increase.
In addition, the state corporation reported that the company is now developing a new generation of FNPPs that will be smaller in size than their predecessor, but significantly more powerful.
Export prospects
Rosatom is also considering the possibility of delivering FNPPs to foreign customers. According to the corporation, in the world there is a high interest in Russian development - domestic stations can provide reliable energy supply to island and coastal states in various regions of the planet.
“All island states demonstrate great interest in such competence, where it is impossible for some reason to create a powerful infrastructure for the transmission of electricity,” the Director General of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev told reporters in May 2018.
- The floating energy block "Academician Lomonosov"
- © Pavel Lvov / RIA News
In October 2019, he announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a floating nuclear power plant project to Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte. According to him, in this island state there are two options for the development of nuclear energy: the launch of a mothballed nuclear power plant in the province of Bataan or the construction of a more powerful facility. Russia may offer Manila a third option - mobile floating nuclear power plants.
According to experts, Russia today is the only state in the world that has such technologies, and in the foreseeable future it will retain this status.
This position of the Russian Federation was achieved thanks to many years of investment in this industry and close attention to this issue by the country's leadership.
“A floating nuclear power plant is actually one of the pinnacles of the development of our shipbuilding industry. What began once with the atomic icebreaker Lenin finally reached a floating nuclear power plant. Such plants will supply energy to large groups of people and contribute to the development of industry. This is an innovative type of energy infrastructure, and we can be fully proud of this achievement, ”concluded Alexander Frolov.