Russian utility Rosenergoatom signs a new contract with the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard for the completion of the first floating nuclear power plant.
Under a contract signed in St Petersburg, Baltiysky Zavod-Shipbuilding, the successor to the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard, will now complete the vessel for delivery to Rosenergoatom on 9 September 2016. The plant – dubbed the Akademik Lomonosov – will then be put into use in Vilyuchinsk, in the Kamchatka region in Russia's far east, reports World Nuclear News.
The keel was originally laid for the first floating plant at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk in April 2007. However, in 2008, Rosatom said that it was to transfer its construction to Baltiysky Zavod because Sevmash was inundated with military contracts. A contract was signed in February 2009 between Rosatom and Baltiysky Zavod for completion of the plant. At that time, the vessel was due to be completed in 2012, but work was hindered as the shipyard found itself facing bankruptcy.
According to Rosenergoatom, over 90% of the work has been completed on the hull of the Akademik Lomonosov. The turbo-generators have already been installed, while the two 35 MW KLT-40S nuclear reactors - similar to those used in Russia's nuclear-powered ice breakers - have been assembled and delivered to the shipyard ready for installation. The first batch of fuel for the floating plant has also already been produced.
Source: World Nuclear News