Rosatom proposed building four energy complexes with high-power reactors in the Urals and Siberia

Rosatom plans to increase the share of nuclear generation in the Russian Federation through the construction in Siberia and the Urals of two energy complexes with high-power fast neutron reactors and closing the nuclear fuel cycle. This was announced by the general director of the state corporation Alexey Likhachev. Rostec also wants to increase nuclear generation in the Far East.

Mr. Likhachev made these theses at the information day for the Russian nuclear industry in the Atom pavilion at VDNKh in Moscow. The event took place at the end of October, but the media drew attention to it today, November 13. The speech of the head of Rosatom was published in the November issue of the Energetic People magazine (published by the concern of the electrical power division Rosatom of the Rosenergoatom concern; .pdf).

By 2035, Russia plans to build 17 power units. As Mr. Likhachev explained, these are “not only VVER-1200, but also medium and low power units, as well as industrial fast neutron reactors.” The state corporation is acting on instructions from the president to increase the share of nuclear generation in the overall energy balance from 20% to 25% in the 2040s.

“We plan to increase nuclear generation in the Urals and go further to Siberia and the Far East, where the greatest growth in consumption is predicted. In the Urals we propose to build two industrial and energy complexes with high-power fast neutron reactors and closing the nuclear fuel cycle. This will be a scaling of technology with the BREST-300 reactor… Two more

We want to build similar industrial energy complexes in Siberia,” said Mr. Likhachev.

In the Far East, it is planned to build two large units with “VVER-1200 reactors and two medium ones with VVER-600 reactors.” Rosatom sees great potential for the development of small-scale nuclear generation, both floating and land-based.

According to Kommersant, Rosatom may install another floating nuclear power plant in Chukotka to cover the growing demand of industrial electricity consumers. Rosatom is already building four power units for the Baimsky Mining and Processing Plant; the fifth station can be installed in Pevek next to the first floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “Chukotka triggered the reaction”.

Leonid Uvarchev