The Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant in Russia’s Arctic Chukotka region has generated its first billion kilowatt hours, approaching five years since entering commercial operation.
The floating nuclear power plant (FNPP), part of Rosatom’s Rosenergoatom division, provides about 60% of the energy for the western Chukotka region and Chersky in Yakutia and has been increasing its output each year.
It began commercial operation in May 2020, said a press release.
Natalia Tarasova, Deputy Director for Human Resources Management at the FNPP, said: “The past year was a landmark for the FNPP. The FNPP’s first fuel campaign was completed in Arctic conditions, a challenge we overcame. One special thing about our work is that some of the personnel work on a rotating schedule, while others work 5,000 kilometers away in the continental Russia, and the rest are permanently based in Pevek.”
It should be noted that non-conventional approaches to work have been an essential part of the FNPP project from the very beginning, he said.
It is the world’s only operating floating nuclear power plant. It is based, with its coastal infrastructure, on the city of Pevek – population 5000 – to which it supplies heat and power. The Akademik Lomonosov has two KLT-40S reactors generating 35 MWe each. It can provide electricity to a city with a population of up to 100,000 people.
Rosatom is in the process of constructing four floating power units and is targeting the export market for floating nuclear power plants with a capacity of at least 100 MWe and an assigned service life of up to 60 years featuring RITM-200M reactors, derived from those used on Russia’s latest nuclear-powered icebreakers.
