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Is nuclear power the answer for the future? Russia is the only major economy forging ahead with it, and they are way ahead in terms of technology and market share, building nuclear power plants all over the world. Here is a good example of their applied technology.
Transcript:
Well, first, about today’s, without any overstatement, historical moment in the history of both Russia's and the world's energy industry. This Saturday, Pevek in Chukotka saw the arrival of the crew that brought the first world’s floating nuclear power unit from Murmansk via the Northeast Passage. Its name is Academician Lomonosov.
Our special correspondent Evgeny Nipot will tell us about the transformed Chukotka that hasn’t seen other heating fuel apart from coal.
It won’t be an overstatement to say that the Academician Lomonosov is starting a new era in energy history, as now it’s possible to deliver an environmentally safe source of power to any part of the world.
For the locals, the arrival of the power unit feels like a holiday.
“It’s a historic event. It's the first time it's happened in the world. You see, we are all very excited, and we are very happy to have it."
"The environment will be cleaner. Our power station is fueled with coal, which makes snow always dirty."
"When children play in the snow, they get all grey then they stand up."
The docking is one of the crucial moments of the power unit's entire voyage to Pevek. The crew must be as focused as they can, as docking at a pier gives limited opportunity for maneuvers. The crew successfully completed the docking, and the captain descended to the shore.
Vasily Golokhvostov, Captain of the Academician Lomonosov: “The passage was completed quite successfully and quickly, we were lucky with both the weather and the vessels that led us.”
The floating nuclear power plant will stay here, at the pier, for decades to come. The construction is over 500 meters long (1,600 feet). Thirty thousand tons of metal give shelter from wind and ice, and at the same time serves as a reliable base for power and heating facilities.
The Academician Lomonosov opens new opportunities for the economic development of the whole region.
Roman Kopin, Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug: "Chukotka currently mines around 10% of Russia's precious metals. The nuclear power station will provide energy for both the current project and the projects to come, such as Kekura and the First Electric Power for the exploration or the Baimskaya Copper Mine."
The lifetime of the floating nuclear power plant is over 40 years with complex maintenance needed once every 12 years.
Support Russia Insider - Go Ad-Free!The first kilowatts of electricity will be fed into the grid as early as December. Next year, after a large-scale reconstruction of the utility grid, the floating nuclear power plant will become the source of heating for Russia's northernmost town.
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