Floating nuclear power stations (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: плавучая атомная теплоэлектростанция малой мощности, ПАТЭС ММ, literally "floating combined heat and power (CHP) low-power nuclear power plant") are vessels designed by

Rosatom Rosatom, ( rus, Росатом, p=rɐsˈatəm}) also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that speciali ...

, the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n state-owned nuclear energy corporation. They are self-contained, low-capacity, floating

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...

s. Rosatom plans to mass-produce the stations at

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

facilities and then tow them to ports near locations that require electricity. The work on such a concept dates back to the

MH-1A MH-1A was the first floating nuclear power station. Named ''Sturgis'' after General Samuel D. Sturgis, Jr., this pressurized water reactor built in a converted Liberty ship was part of a series of reactors in the US Army Nuclear Power Program, w ...

in the United States, which was built in the 1960s into the hull of a World War II

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

. In 2022, the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

funded a three-year research study of offshore floating nuclear power generation. The Rosatom project is the first floating nuclear power plant intended for mass production. The initial plan was to manufacture at least seven of the vessels by 2015. On 14 September 2019, Russia’s first-floating nuclear power plant, ''

Akademik Lomonosov ''Akademik Lomonosov'' (russian: Академик Ломоносов) is a non-self-propelled power barge that operates as the first Russian floating nuclear power station. The ship was named after academician Mikhail Lomonosov. It is docked in ...

'', arrived to its permanent location in the Chukotka region. It started operation on 19 December 2019.

History

The project for a floating nuclear power station began in 2000, when the Ministry for Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (

) chose

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk ( rus, Северодвинск, p=sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the ...

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...

as the construction site,

Sevmash JSC PO Sevmash ( rus, ОАО «ПО „Севмаш“», Севмаш, СМПСМП, "Severodvinsk Machine Building Plant") is a Russian joint-stock company (JSC) under the vertically-integrated United Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipbuilding ...

was appointed as general contractor. Construction of the first power station, the ''

'', started on 15 April 2007 at the Sevmash Submarine-Building Plant in Severodvinsk. In August 2008 construction works were transferred to the

Baltic Shipyard The OJSC Baltic Shipyard (''Baltiysky Zavod'', formerly Shipyard 189 named after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) (russian: Балтийский завод имени С. Орджоникидзе) is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia and is part o ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, which is also responsible for the construction of future vessels. ''Akademik Lomonosov'' was launched on 1 July 2010, at an estimated cost of 6 billion rubles (232 m$). In 2015 construction of a second vessel starting in 2019 was announced by Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom. On 27 July 2021 Rosatom signed an agreement with GDK Baimskaya LLC for energy delivery for Baimskaya copper mining operations. Rosatom suggests delivering up to three new floating power plants (with fourth being in reserve), all using the latest RITM-200M 55 MWe reactors, currently serving on Project 22220 icebreakers. These are to be docked at Cape Nagloynyn, Chaunskaya Bay port and connected to the Baimskaya mine by 400 km long 110 kV line through Bilibino. According to Rosatom, production of the first new reactors by

Atomenergomash Atomenergomash (AEM) (russian: Атомэнергомаш) is a power engineering Russian company. Аtomenergomash JSC (AEM Holding company, AEM, Group) is a Russian power engineering company, a supplier of products for nuclear and thermal power ...

has already started. In August 2022, construction of the first hull started in China, planned to be delivered to Russia in 2023 for installation of reactors and equipment. On 31 December 2021 Rosatom announced that these four new floating plants will carry a new, slightly improved version of RITM-200 cores, named RITM-200S, currently in development. TVEL has been charged with development of new fuel assemblies for its improved core. Each barge will produce 106 MWe of power.

Licensing

Makers of mobile nuclear power plants need to obtain a manufacturing license. This allows the producer to create at a shipyard office various flatboat mounted atomic power plants of a similar structure which are to be worked at unassigned destinations by service organizations. The attributes of the locales at which the plants are to work are determined by the producer as a site-related instruction. Since seaward atomic power plants are profoundly exposed to various covering administrative purviews, steps have been taken to structure the interagency coordination.

Technical characteristics

The floating nuclear power station is a non-self propelled vessel. It has length of , width of , height of , and draught of . The vessel has a displacement of 21,500 tonnes and a crew of 69 people. Each vessel of this type has two modified

KLT-40 The KLT-40 family are nuclear fission reactors originating from OK-150 and OK-900 ship reactors. KLT-40 were developed to power the ''Taymyr''-class icebreakers (KLT-40M, 171 MW) and the LASH carrier '' Sevmorput'' (KLT-40, 135 MW).naval propulsion reactors together providing up to 70 MW of electricity or 300 MW of heat, or cogeneration of electricity and heat for

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...

, enough for a city with a population of 200,000 people. Because of its ability to float and be assembled in extreme weather conditions, it can provide heat and power to areas that do not have easy access to these amenities because of their geographic location. It could also be modified as a

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

plant producing 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water a day. Smaller modification of the plant can be fitted with two ABV-6M reactors with the electrical power around 18 MWe (megawatts of electricity). The much larger

VBER-300 The VBER-300 is a proposed Russian pressurized water reactor of 325-MWe generating capacity designed for remote locations. The exterior containment structure is 16 meters high and the working section, built with transportable modules, weighs 1300 to ...

917 MW thermal or 325 MWe and the slightly larger RITM-200 55 MWe reactors have both been considered as a potential energy source for these floating nuclear power stations. The station also incorporates a floating unit (FPU), waterworks, guaranteeing solid establishment, separation FPU and transmitting created power and heat on the banks, inland offices for accepting and transmitting the produced power to outside systems for circulation to purchasers.

Objectives

The primary goal of the venture is to give increasing energy needs of the area, effective energy investigation and advancement of gold and rest of the different fields in Chaun-Bilibino energy arrangement of the industrial group, guaranteeing adjustment of taxes for electric and heat energy for the populace and modern customers, and the making of a solid energy base for monetary and social improvement of the locale.

Contractors

The hull and sections of vessels are built by the

. Reactors are designed by

OKBM Afrikantov OKBM Afrikantov (full name: OAO I. I. Afrikantov OKB Mechanical Engineering, russian: Опытное конструкторское бюро машиностроения им. И. И. Африкантова) is a nuclear engineering com ...

and assembled by Nizhniy Novgorod Research and Development Institute Atomenergoproekt (both part of

Atomenergoprom Atomenergoprom (Atomic Energy Power Corporation, AEP, russian: AO Атомэнергопром) is a 100% state-owned holding company that unifies the Russian civil nuclear industry. It is a part of the Rosatom State corporation. History Atomenerg ...

). The reactor vessels are produced by

Izhorskiye Zavody Izhorskiye Zavody or Izhora Plants (russian: Ижо́рские заво́ды) is a Russian machine building joint stock company (OAO) belonging to the OMZ Group. It operates a major manufacturing plant in Kolpino, Saint Petersburg. History ...

. Kaluga Turbine Plant supplies the turbo-generators.

Fueling

The floating power stations need to be refueled every three years while saving up to 200,000 metric tons of coal and 100,000 tons of fuel oil a year. The reactors are supposed to have a lifespan of 40 years. Every 12 years, the whole plant will be towed home and overhauled at the wharf where it was constructed. The manufacturer will arrange for the disposal of the nuclear waste and maintenance is provided by the infrastructure of the Russian nuclear industry. Thus, virtually no radiation traces are expected at the place where the power station produced its energy.

Safety

The safety systems of the KLT-40S are designed according to the reactor design itself, physical successive systems of protection and containment, self-activating active and passive safety systems, self-diagnostic automatic systems, reliable diagnostics relating to equipment and systems status, and provisioned methods regarding accident control. Additionally, the safety systems on board operate independently of the plant’s power supply. Environmental groups and citizens are concerned that floating plants will be more vulnerable to accidents, natural disasters specific to oceans, and terrorism than land-based stations. They point to a history of naval and nuclear accidents in Russia and the former Soviet Union, including the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

of 1986. Russia does have 50 years of experience operating a fleet of

nuclear-powered icebreaker A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. , Russia is the only country that builds and operates nuclear-powered icebreakers, having built a number of ...

s that are also used for scientific and Arctic tourism expeditions. However earlier incidents (

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, 1957, and Taymyr, 2011) involving radioactive leaking from such vessels also contribute to safety concerns for FNPPs. Commercialization of floating nuclear power plants in the United States have failed due to high costs and safety concerns. Environmental concerns around the health and safety of the project have arisen. Radioactive steam may be produced, negatively impacting people living nearby. Earthquake activity is common in the area and there are fears that a tsunami wave could damage the facility and release radioactive substances and waste. Being on the water exposes it to natural forces, according to environmental groups.

Environmental impacts

In resemblance to terrestrial nuclear powerplants, coastal atomic power plants may incite similar consequences for the ocean’s environment. Although the surrounding seawall might result in an unnatural reef and facilitate an advantageous environment for several marine life forms, the potential catastrophic effects of the floating nuclear power plant process on animal and plant life near the shore would perhaps be the intrusion of young and adult fish along with increased mortality in aquatic and marine life caused by damages suffered during entrainment. Because of the narrow area of the thermal plume compared to the area of accessible water for the aquatic life, the thermal impact on the plants and animals in the ocean would be of secondary value. Winter shutdown of the plant may result in fish kills; However, this impact can be mitigated in multiple-united stations by avoiding simultaneous shutdowns of more than one unit. The breakwater will constitute an artificial island of appreciable size.

Locations

Floating nuclear power stations are planned to be used mainly in the Russian

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. Five of these are planned to be used by Gazprom for offshore oil and gas field development and for operations on the

Kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio for ...

and Yamal peninsulas. Other locations include

Dudinka Dudinka (russian: Дуди́нка; Nenets: Тут'ын, ''Tutꜧyn'') is a town on the Yenisei River and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It used to be the administrative center of Ta ...

on the

Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrat ...

Vilyuchinsk Vilyuchinsk (russian: Вилючинск) is a closed town in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the Kamchatka Peninsula about across Avacha Bay from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Population: History It was founded as Sovetsky () on October ...

on the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...

and

Pevek Pevek (russian: Певе́к; Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea) on a pe ...

on the

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; russian: Чуко́тский полуо́стров, ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form russian: Чуко́тка, ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastern ...

. In 2007, Rosatom signed an agreement with the Sakha Republic to build a floating plant for its northern parts, using smaller ABV reactors. According to Rosatom, 15 countries, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Sudan, Namibia, Cape Verde, and Argentina, have shown interest in hiring such a device. It has been estimated that 75% of the world's population live within 100 miles of a port city.

History

Licensing

Technical characteristics

Objectives

Contractors

Fueling

Safety

Environmental impacts

Locations

See also

References

Further reading