In January, Russia’s one-off low-capacity floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) Akademik Lomonosov reached another landmark, having supplied the first billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to the isolated Chaun-Bilibino power grid in Chukotka. Russia is offering its partners innovative floating power units and land-based SMR nuclear power plants.
Akademik Lomonosov is the only operating offshore nuclear station and the northernmost nuclear thermal power plant in the world. The FNPP is intended, among other things, to supply electricity for the full-scale deployment of mining operations at a new mining site. The total power it can feed into the onshore grid of the town of Pevek is 70 MW (when no heat is supplied to the shore) or about 44 MW (when the heat output is at maximum).
At present, Akademik Lomonosov accounts for over 60% of power generation within the isolated Chaun-Bilibino grid, and increases its power output year after year. The population of Pevek is 5,000 but the FNPP has the potential to supply electricity to a city with a population of up to 100,000.
“Last year was a landmark for the FNPP as it was refueled for the first time ever. This is a challenge in the Arctic conditions but we coped with it,” said Natalia Tarasova, FNPP Deputy Director for HR Management.
With five years in operation, Akademik Lomonosov has proved to be environmentally and radiologically safe. The surrounding area is monitored annually, showing an increase in the population of aquatic plants and animals (zooplankton and phytoplankton) and a decrease in the natural background radiation.
The successful experience of operating the FNPP laid the groundwork for the development of new floating power units. Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division is working on setting up commercial production of such units.
Floating units are built at a shipyard and, when completed, are transported by water to the intended location, which already have onshore infrastructure enabling them to be connected to the power grid. If necessary, the unit can be relocated to another area. Alternatively, if power shortage is expected, the power output can be quickly increased by connecting another floating power unit to the grid.
Floating power units are equipped with low-power reactors. New units will feature RITM reactors, which have been successfully used to power the latest Russian nuclear icebreakers for several years. These reactors are more advanced than the KLT-40S reactor installed on Akademik Lomonosov.
The unparalleled performance of Russian floating nuclear power units attract interest from potential customers all over the world. As Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said on the sidelines of the 2024 Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian nuclear corporation is ready to offer several modifications of floating power units, including versions for arctic and tropical climates.
Excellent prospects for using small modular reactors, including offshore, are recognized worldwide, and the IAEA is no exception. “To achieve net zero, it is necessary to utilize every available form of clean energy. Floating nuclear power units do not compete with land-based small modular reactors but expand the possibilities and potential of this nuclear technology to achieve our zero-emission goals,” said IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy Mikhail Chudakov, speaking at the International Symposium on the Deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants – Benefits and Challenges in 2023.
Small-scale nuclear generation solutions offered by Rosatom extend beyond offshore power plants into land-based modifications.
Uzbekistan is one of the first countries in the world to have made a positive decision on building an onshore small modular reactor nuclear power plant (SNPP). This was pointed out by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his address to the international conference “Prospects for the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes in the Sustainable Development of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: International and National Experience” held in December 2024 in Samarkand. The President expressed gratitude to the IAEA for its support of Uzbekistan’s initiatives in this field.
Last May, Rosatom signed a contract to build a Russian-designed SNPP in Uzbekistan. This was the world’s first export contract for the supply of small-scale nuclear generation technology. It provides for the construction of a 330 MW nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh Region of Uzbekistan. The plant will use six RITM-200N reactors, a former marine technology modified for onshore deployment, each having an electric capacity of 55 MW.
Photo by: Floating NPP, Uzatom
