First Floating Nuclear Power Plant in 2016

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Russia is aiming to launch the world's first floating nuclear power plant within three years.

The news was announced by Aleksandr Voznesensky, general director of Russia's largest shipbuilders, the Baltic Plant, at the 6th International Naval Show in St. Petersburg recently. The Akademik Lomonosov is a 144-meter long ship, weighing in at 21,500 tons and will be capable of generating 70 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power about 200,000 homes according to the company.

Russia wants the Akademik Lomonosov to be the first in a fleet of floating nuclear power plants intended to use to bring energy to remote parts of the country, particularly the northern coast and far east, which are economically poor. They will also be used to bring power to industrial complexes, port cities and to offshore oil and gas rigs. The company claims that the floating nuclear plants will meet all existing safety standards, including the ability to withstand tsunamis, but exact details on the safety measures employed have not been made clear.

The ship will resemble a traditional Taymyr-class icebreaking ship which has a long record of use in harsh climates and will house two modified KLT-40 naval propulsion reactors, capable of putting out 70 MW of electricity and up to 300 MW of heat.

The company says the floating power plant can be repurposed as a desalination plant, capable of producing 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water a day. Other countries around the world, including China, Indonesia, Algeria, and Argentina have expressed interest in owning a floating nuclear power plant.

Construction of the Akademik Lomonosov power plant -- valued at almost $300 million - began in 2007 at the Sevmash OJSC shipyard in Severodvinsk. The following year it was transferred to Baltiysky Zavod shipyard by Russia's nuclear regulatory body, Rosatom Nuclear Energy State Corporation (Moscow). Russia had expected to launch the floating nuclear power plant in 2012, but work stalled for the past couple of years due to financing troubles; however, in December 2012, the Baltic plant signed a new deal with state-owned Energoatom Concern OJSC (Moscow).

In 2009, an agreement was signed between Rosatom and the Republic of Yakutia to invest in the development of four floating nuclear power plants that would be used to supply heat and electricity to the northern regions of the Siberian Republic. The agreement also involves the development of the Elkon uranium reserves, estimated at around 319,000 tons, which amounts to roughly 6% of the world's total reserves. For additional information, see May 1, 2009, article - Russia's First Floating Nuclear Power Plant to be Delivered by 2012.

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