OREANDA-NEWS. May 19, 2009. Director General of Energoatom Concern OJSC Sergey Obozov said during the ceremony that after building the first plant Russia would consider building similar plants for foreign consumers. More specifically, the Concern is planning to build seven plants.

The first sites will be Vilyuchinsk (Kamchatka region) and Pevek (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug).

Head of the Directorate for the Construction of Floating NPPs of Energoatom Concern Sergey Zavyalov said that the Concern might start the construction of the second plant in the autumn 2010. “We already have agreement with the authorities of Cukotka to station the plant in Pevek,” Zavyalov said.

Zavyalov said that one floating nuclear power plant could serve for 40 years and needed refueling just once in 10 years.

On Feb 27 2009 Baltiysky Zavod and Energoatom Concern signed a contract for the construction of the world’s first floating nuclear power plants.

The first plant is supposed to be ready by the second quarter of 2012, after which it will be given to the Concern for stationing and operation.

The cost of the contract for the construction of the main floating NPP is 9.982bln RUR.

Floating nuclear power plants with KLT-40S and ABV-6M reactors are designed for generation and supply of electric and thermal electricity and desalination of water.

The use of floating NPPs is mostly expedient in regions lacking own fuel resources or experiencing difficulties in delivering them (Far North and Far East of Russia, island states of Asian-Pacific).

The use of floating reactors implies active involvement of the infrastructure of the nuclear ship building and specialized ship building companies and shipyards.

The construction of floating NPP costs as much as the construction of a plant working on organic fuel while the period of construction is much shorter (3–3.5 years).

The reactor is assembled by a specialized manufacturer and delivered to the site with very little construction and installation work done onsite.

The operation of floating NPP is cheap
the operation is based on shift regime
maintenance of the plant and treatment of radioactive waste is carried out by specialized companies

The plant is mobile and can be stationed anywhere onshore and even in the beds of big rivers. This project is based on the principle of green field: after decommissioning the plant is taken away from the area with no consequences for the environment.

The construction of the first such plant was started in Severodvonsk. In the summer 2008 the construction was transferred to Baltiyskiy Zavod in St.Petersburg. The reactors for the plant are being designed by Afrikantov OKBM. The first plants will be stationed in Pevek (Chukotka) and Viluchinsk (Kamchatka). The first NPP is to be launched in 2011. Presently, Energoatom Concern are working on new generation of floating NPPs with a capacity of 300–400MW.