Russian floating nuclear power plant lit a Christmas tree

A few days ago in the city of Pevek, Chukotka Autonomous District, a domestic floating nuclear thermal power plant (FNPP) supplied the first electricity to the network. To give solemnity, it was decided to coincide with its launch to ignite the Christmas tree.

Currently, there are 10 nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation. The FNPP will be the eleventh on this list and the northernmost in Russia. It consists of the Akademik Lomonosov floating power unit, where all capacities are located, and onshore hydraulic structures. The main objective of the FNPP will be the supply of energy to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the supply of heat to Pevek residents.

The station is equipped with two KLT-40S icebreaker-type reactors that are capable of generating up to 70 MW of electricity and 50 Gcal / h of thermal energy, which is enough to ensure energy consumption in a city with a population of about 100 thousand people. Connection to Pevek’s heating networks will be made in 2020. In the meantime, the illumination of the New Year tree is being fed from it.

The directorate of the Rosenergoatom Concern and the Directorate for the Construction and Operation of Floating Nuclear Thermal Power Plants stated that the new nuclear power plant is extremely reliable, safe and has a high level of strength. In addition, it will become one of the key infrastructure elements in the framework of the Northern Sea Route development program.

In the future, the FNPP will replace the capacities of the technologically obsolete Bilibino NPP and the coal Chaun TPP. It is reported that Rosatom is already working on the second generation of the FNPP – an optimized floating power unit (OFPU), which will be smaller and more powerful than its predecessor. It is supposed to be equipped with two RITM-200M reactors with a total capacity of 100 MW.