Russia’s floating NPP (FNPP), Akademik Lomonosov, now moored at Pevek in the Arctic northeast, has supplied 10GWh of electricity to the Chukotka network since it was connected to the local grid on 19 December, nuclear utility Rosenergoatom reported on 24 January.
Currently, the FNPP provides 20% of the needs of the Chaun-Bilibino energy centre.
In future it will fully cover the growing electricity needs of Chukotka, becoming a reliable source for the city of Pevek and the more extensive the region.
Vitaly Trutnev, Director of the Rosenergoatom Directorate for the Construction and Operation of Floating Nuclear Thermal Power Plants, said: “In the future, the FNPP will provide electricity to the development of enterprises for the extraction of gold, copper and other mineral resources in the territory of Chukotka."
"In addition, the FNPP will become one of the supporting elements of the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route. The key objective of 2020 is the commissioning of the facility,” he added.
In June nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor issued Rosenergoatom with a 10-year licence to operate the Akademik Lomonosov plant until 2029.
The Akademik Lomonosov has a maximum output of more than 70MWe from two KLT-40S reactors.
It is the lead project for a series of low-power mobile transportable power units.
The FNPP will eventually replace the capacities of the technologically obsolete Bilibino nuclear plant and the coal-fired Chaun plant.
Rosatom is already working on the second generation of floating nulcear power plants. The Optimised Floating Power Unit (OFPU), which will be smaller and more powerful than its predecessor, will be equipped with two RITM-200M reactors with a total capacity of 100MWe.
Photo: Ten scored! The floating NPP has delivered its first 10GWh of electric power to the Chukotka grid (Credit: Rosenergoatom)
