Moscow (AFP)

From Murmansk to the Far East, the world's first floating nuclear power plant is starting a 5,000-kilometer journey into the Arctic on Friday, despite fears among conservationists about the consequences for this very fragile region.

Designed to fuel the development of hydrocarbon production in excessively isolated areas, the Akademik Lomonosov must leave Murmansk, a port in the Russian Far North where it was loaded with nuclear fuel, in the direction of Pevek, a small town in eastern Siberia. in the Chukotka Autonomous District.

The trip is expected to last between four and six weeks, depending on the weather and the amount of ice on the road, although the Northeast Passage - which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean while skirting the north coast of Russia-- is becoming more accessible with the melting ice caused by global warming.

Block of 21,000 tons without engine, the Akademik Lomonosov will be towed by several ships for his trip. The plant comprises two reactors with a capacity of 35 MW each, close to those of nuclear icebreakers, against more than 1,000 MW for a reactor of a conventional new generation plant.

During an AFP visit in May 2018, the barge, 144 meters long and 30 wide, has a crew of 69 people at an average speed of 3.5 to 4.5 knots (6.5 to 8.3 km / h), still sported brown and yellow colors very shabby.

Now painted in the colors of Russia and Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, Akademik Lomonosov will not go unnoticed in Pevek, where it will be connected to the local power grid and should be operational by the end of the year.

Although the population of this small town does not exceed 5,000 inhabitants, the plant covers the consumption of 100,000 people and will mainly serve to fuel the oil platforms of the region, while Russia develops the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Arctic.

The Akademik Lomonosov, whose construction began in 2006 in St. Petersburg before being brought to Murmansk last year, will replace a nuclear power plant, land well this one, and an obsolete coal plant.

- "Nuclear Titanic" -

Environmental groups have been denouncing the project for years and their warnings of the dangers of a "Chernobyl on Ice" or a "Nuclear Titanic" take a special focus, while an explosion in August on a test basis Missiles in the Far North briefly bumped radioactivity in the area.

"Any nuclear power station produces radioactive waste and may have an accident but the Akademik Lomonosov is also vulnerable to storms," ​​said Rachid Alimov, Energy Department of Greenpeace Russia.

Especially in the Arctic, the weather is extreme and unpredictable.

"The barge is towed by other ships so in the event of a big storm, there may be collisions and Rosatom plans to store spent fuel on board ... any incident would have serious consequences for the fragile environment. of the Arctic, not to mention that there is no nuclear cleaning infrastructure there, "adds Rachid Alimov.

According to him, the Chukotka district, a gigantic region larger than France but populated by only 50,000 inhabitants, "has enormous potential for the development of wind power and a floating nuclear power plant is simply a too risky and too expensive to produce electricity ".

The idea of ​​a floating nuclear power station, though it may seem dangerous, does not come out of nowhere. The nuclear industry, which seeks to reinvent itself in the face of the gloomy market, is developing small, modular and cheaper reactors to attract new customers.

They are inspired by shipbuilding, which has been using nuclear power for a long time to propel submarines, icebreakers or aircraft carriers, and are intended in particular for isolated areas with little infrastructure.

A simpler solution than building a conventional plant on a ground frozen all year, according to Rosatom, which intends to sell its floating plant abroad.

© 2019 AFP