Russia and China are going to sell floating nuclear power plants!
Floating Nuclear Power Plants!
March 11, 2008
Russia is going to sell floating nuclear power plants. At a time when humanity's electricity needs are setting record after record, industry players are signing contracts to build thermal or nuclear power plants all over the globe. However, in addition to traditional consumption hubs (cities, industries, etc.), significant needs have emerged in isolated regions, far from electricity production sites (mining operations, new towns, etc.) in recent years.
In this very tense energy context, Russia has been working on the concept of a floating nuclear power plant since the early 2000s, for deployment near energy-deficient consumption hubs. Validated in November 2002 by the Russian minister of atomic energy and industry, the project entered an active phase in 2007, aiming to become a reality as early as 2010 with the construction of a first unit.
Thanks to 2 KLT-40S reactors, the first floating nuclear power plant, installed on a barge 175 meters long, should deliver a power of 70 MW (compared to the 1,600 MW of the French EPR, not floating) and up to 150 G Kg cal/h. While the cost of this prototype, in which China is participating, is expected to reach about 270 million euros, the series versions could be offered at a very competitive price: between 135 and 170 million euros. In addition to electricity directly injected into the local grid, the heat produced by the plant will be used to produce fresh water from seawater desalination by evaporation.
Alongside this model, intended only for coastal installations and open to export (several countries in Asia, the Maghreb, and the Persian Gulf have already expressed interest), a second prototype is also in the final stages of development.
Using 2 less powerful ABV-6M reactors, this other type of floating nuclear power plant can be moved inland via the river network. With a unit power of 18 MW, these plants are intended to provide electricity and heat to areas not connected to the main grid (two-thirds of the Russian territory is not covered by a centralized electrical network). These plants should be put into service between 2013 and 2015, mainly in Russia, where 30 of these plants are planned in the near future, according to the ministry of atomic energy and industry.
Despite their reduced power, the dissemination of these nuclear reactors around the world is not without raising questions. While for Moscow, "It is a safe and non-proliferation-risky way to meet the energy needs of the most isolated areas, or to satisfy the huge appetite of growing economies," Evgeny Simonov, a former nuclear safety inspector during the Soviet era, considers that "The reactors of these plants are much more dangerous than those of traditional nuclear industry." Indeed, corresponding to models used on certain icebreakers and nuclear-powered submarines of the former USSR, due to their design, these "small" reactors are considered by several experts as much more difficult to control than a conventional commercial reactor, especially in the case of a chain reaction runaway. Alexandre Iablokov, the president of the center for ecological policy, notes that their manufacturer himself has noted that they need to be modified for non-military use, because "they are not safe enough to be used near a populated area."
Pascal Farcy 1- The areas intended for installation all have significant prospects for economic development (mineral deposits, industry, etc.).
Source Univers Nature