Russia To Have First Floating Nuclear Power Plant

Russia is building the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, and it’s set to be completed by 2016.

According to the Huffington Post, the massive water-borne power station is intended to be more portable and safer than traditional power plants.

One of Russia’s biggest shipbuilders (the Baltic Plant) has been building the plant since 2009, and insists that it is able to withstand tsunamis, crashes at sea and other potential problems.

According to RT.com, “The unique vessel should be operational by 2016, the general director of Russia’s biggest shipbuilders, the Baltic Plant, Aleksandr Voznesensky told reporters at the 6th International Naval Show in St. Petersburg.”

Lomonosov is said to become the spearhead of a series of floating nuclear power plants, which Russia plans to put into mass-production.

The floating power-generating unit was designed on the basis of nuclear reactors which are equipped on the icebreakers ships, technology which has proved itself for over 50 years of successful operation in extreme Arctic conditions.

The floating nuclear plant is aimed at providing energy to large industrial enterprises, port cities, and offshore gas and oil-extracting platforms.

It’s non-self-propelled and therefore has to be towed to the desired destination, according to RT.com.

The Huffington Post stated that the designers of the floating nuclear plant insist that the ship-like power stations do not release harmful waste during their operations, and “are at least as safe as nuclear stations on land – in fact exceeding safety regulations designed to prevent against any possible threats.”

“And if the 21,500 ton plant runs into trouble it could be redeployed to a more safe location, away from populated areas – though as The Verge points out, a meltdown at sea is hardly a reassuring image.”

The Huffington Post also states that the floating nuclear plant can also work as desalination plants – “producing 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.”

Reports say that the craft has the capacity to provide 70 MW of electricity – enough for a city of 200,000.

Russia has been in the news quite a bit lately, but the release of these plans for the first floating nuclear power plant is sure to stir up conversation.

[Image via HuffPost]