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Floating Nuclear Power Plant Will Be Key Element on Northern Sea Route

The Akademik Lomonosov power station has been officially handed over to the Russian state nuclear power company.
Rosatom

The construction and testing of Russia’s first power plant are declared completed. On Thursday morning the installation was officially handed over from Baltic Yard to Rosatom.

At the ceremony, representatives of two Russian state companies signed a document saying that the Akademik Lomonosov passed all necessary tests and successfully met requirements. 

“It marks a significant milestone and certifies that the obligations of the contractor to the customer have been fully met and that results are in line with the conditions of the contract,” Andrei Petrov, General Director of Rosenergoatom, said.

“We are now starting the active preparations for transportation of the floating power plant to Pevek, its permanent location,” he added.

The installation will be towed from Murmansk to the Arctic town in the Far East in August. Baltic Yard representatives will take part in the operation and also assist in the connection of the plant to coastal facilities in Pevek, representatives of the yard confirmed.

The Baltic Yard said that it has guarantee responsibilities for the plant until the middle of 2021.

According to Rosatom, the Akademik Lomonosov will be a “key element in the infrastructure developed as part of plans for the Northern Sea Route.”

It is planned to provide both electricity and heat to Pevek residents and ultimately replace the generating capacities of the local Chaunsky heat power plant and the Bilibinsky Nuclear Power Plant.

The floating power plant will prepare the ground for social and economic development in the region, the state nuclear power company said.

As previously reported, the Akademik Lomonosov in late June obtained a 10-year operation license for its two reactors. The license was granted by Rostechnadzor, Russia’s Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service.

The plant which was built in St. Petersburg was towed around Scandinavia last summer and the first uranium fuel elements were loaded into the reactors in July last year. The first of the two reactors was launched in November and late April, the power-plant was successfully tested to 100% capacity.

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