Moscow: The world’s first floating nuclear power station will sail with the name of “Academician Lomonosov” in 2016 .
Russia will use it to provide energy, heat and fresh water, industrial area or an offshore oil platform in the Arctic. Floating power units will best suited for hard to reach areas on the banks of large rivers or seas, far from centralized energy systems. In Russia, the Far North and the Far East are not linked with the unified energy system and the need for reliable and affordable energy sources are importan for Russians to develop these areas. There is currently an urgent need to dozens of small thermal power capacity to stimulate economic activity and maintenance of modern living conditions of the local population. Typical towns of the North have hundreds to a few thousand. The needs of such a settlement in the form of electricity, respectively, from a few to several tens of MW. Similar to industrial needs of the majority of mines and mineral processing plants.
The presence of floating nuclear power plant will increase the energy security of the country. In extreme situations, such as the accident at Japan’s “Fukushima”, it will be able to swim up and restore power supply in those regions where the ground broke down the power plant.
Enrichment of fuel to be used in floating power plants do not exceed the limit set by the IAEA for compliance with non-proliferation regime. This allows the use of floating nuclear power sources in the framework of international law, including in developing countries.
