Rosatom and the government of Primorsky Krai have signed an agreement on the feasibility study and site selection of floating nuclear power units on the coast.

The agreement, signed at the Atomexpo 2024 event in Sochi, aims to produce reliable and carbon-free power generation facilities in the region, which borders China and North Korea and lies about 250 miles across the sea from Japan.

Rosatom said the agreement will also cover the financial, economic, legal and technical aspects of future projects, as well as how the projects will be organized. Russia's Unified Energy System operator estimates that the Russian Far East will need at least 1.35 gigawatts of electricity by 2029-2030.

Andrei Leonteyev, Minister of Energy and Gas Supply of Primorsky Krai, said: "Initially, we thought that four floating generator sets were needed to eliminate the energy shortage in the south...... In addition to small-scale nuclear energy, we also see the need to build a nuclear power plant with two 600-megawatt units in the medium term for the development of our region."

Andrey Nikpelov, deputy Director-General of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Solutions at Rosatom, said: "Small nuclear power is a modern, green way to stabilise energy supply and energy costs are expected to remain for decades...... The floating power plant, with its mobility and scalability, is a doubly flexible solution that not only meets the current needs of the active development of industry and infrastructure in the region, but also brings new opportunities to further expand the economic potential of the region and provide people with better living conditions."

Rosatom has developed a floating nuclear power plant based on the RITM-200 reactor, which has been used in its new fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, and has begun construction of nuclear power plants to supply "dozens of countries and regions" to the Bamsky mining and processing plant. Is said to have shown interest. For example, it says up to 15 floating nuclear power units are needed in the Russian Arctic.

Russia already has a floating nuclear power plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, which is located in Pevek and provides heat and electricity to the town. The system is based on two KLT-40S reactors, each generating 35 MWe, similar to those used in the previous generation of nuclear-powered icebreakers.

Also at Atomexpo, Rosatom signed an agreement with Russia's TSS Group on the formation of a joint venture to build and operate floating nuclear power units for foreign markets.

The floating plant will feature a RITM-200 reactor with a capacity of 100 megawatts and a service life of at least 60 years.

Sergei Velichko, Chairman of the TSS Group, said: "Floating generators are an effective solution to current and future energy shortages in rapidly developing regions... We see a great demand for stable and green energy almost everywhere in the world." All countries in Africa and the Middle East... We believe the largest sovereign funds will be an important driver of investment in this technology." Editor/Xu Shengpeng