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FROM-Resilient Earth

Russia To Ring Arctic With Floating Nuclear Plants

A Russian project currently underway aims at ringing the Arctic Circle with 70 MW floating nuclear power plants. In a report by Interfax, a Russian state controlled news agency, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the far northern Siberian Republic of Yakutiya signed an agreement last week for the construction of four floating nuclear power plants for use along the Republic’s coastal areas on the Arctic Ocean. This moves forward existing plans to construct scores of new power plants in the Arctic region.

The announcement of the new floating nuclear power plants (FNPP) comes a day after Rosatom and Germany’s Siemens AG signed a memorandum of understanding to team up on a joint venture that would encompass all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, from fabricating fuel to decommissioning old nuclear installations. The two companies predicated their union on a forecast 400 new nuclear reactors expected to be built worldwide by 2030. This is taking place while Germany is attempting to shrink its dependence on nuclear power—another indication that European attitudes towards nuclear power are changing in the face of the harsh realities of realizable renewable energy production.

The floating plants are backed by President Putin as part of a program to raise the portion of Russian electricity generated by nuclear power from 17% to 25%. Currently, Russia operates 31 nuclear reactors at ten different locations. More...

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