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Russia’s Floating Nuclear Power Plant Is Getting Ready for Installation
1 June 2017
EIRNS—In an email interview, deputy CEO (Special Projects) in Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom, Papel Ipatov, told Indian news agency IANS that the floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) "construction is at its closing stage. The plant has already been floated out; fitting-out is under way." It has been undergoing "mooring trials" since last July to test the FNPP’s performance efficiency; they are scheduled to be completed by October.
The floating nuclear power plant, named Akademik Lomonosov, is being built In Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg. It contains two KLT-40C naval propulsion reactors with a 35 MW capacity each. These are mounted on a barge that is 144 meters long by 30 meters wide. The plant does not self-propel, but must be towed to its destination and docked at the required port. Operation is previewed for 2017 at the Chukotka district, in Northwestern Russia, Foro Nuclear reported. According to Ipatov, "we see significant potential in Southeast Asia and other regions of the world. Memorandums of cooperation on floating nuclear power plants projects have been signed with China and Indonesia. ... We hope that FNPP technology will also gain interest in South Asia, including India, not only in terms of new opportunities to provide power supply to remote areas, but in terms of building extra seawater desalination facilities, too." According to IANS, the floating nuclear power plant will have a desalination unit producing up to 240 cubic meters of water per hour. |
