Rosatom’s first-of-a-kind floating power unit connects to isolated electricity grid in Pevek in Russia’s Far East.

On December 19, 2019, the floating power unit (FPU) Akademik Lomonosov established a connection with the grid in Pevek, Chukotka, for the first time producing nuclear-generated electricity in that remote area of the Russian Far East. This happened after the Russian regulator Rostekhnadzor issued an operations permit, as well as a permit to connect to the Northern electricity grid maintained by JSC Chukotenergo.

Pevek residents marked this symbolic day by turning on the fairy lights on the town’s Christmas tree.

Rosatom’s director general Alexey Likhachev said, “After its connection to the grid, Akademik Lomonosov becomes the world’s first nuclear power plant based on SMR-class (small modular reactors) technology to generate electricity. This is a remarkable milestone for both the Russian and the world’s nuclear energy industry. This is also a major step in establishing Pevek as the new energy capital of the region.”

The project has been welcomed by scientists, nuclear energy experts, and environmentalists across the world. Kirsty Gogan, head of Energy for Humanity, an NGO based in London, said, “For hard-to-reach regions, with a climate that is simultaneously too harsh to support the use of renewable energies and too fragile to continue its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, small nuclear plants, including floating plants, are the only answer. Akademik Lomonosov is the first step towards demonstrating  the potential for the decarbonization of the Arctic and beyond.”

Connecting the FPU generators to the network was carried out after the operators synchronized generator parameters with the coastal network. This happened after completing construction of the onshore facilities, which ensured the transfer of electricity from the FPUs to Chukotka’s high voltage networks. A vast amount of work was also carried out on constructing the heat supply networks. Connecting the floating nuclear thermal power plant (FNPP) to Pevek’s heat networks will be completed in 2020.

Once the FNPP begins commercial operations, it will be Russia’s 11th nuclear power plant. It will also mark the first time in Russia’s nuclear energy history that two nuclear power plants (the Akademik Lomonosov FNPP and the Bilibino NPP) operate in the same region.

The nuclear FPU Akademik Lomonosov is equipped with two KLT-40C reactor systems (each with a capacity of 35 MW) similar to those used on icebreakers. It is designed by Rosatom to work as a part of an FNPP. The vessel is 144 meters long and 30 meters wide; it has a displacement of 21,000 tons. Akademik Lomonosov – the first ship of this kind – was named for the 18th century Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. Akademik Lomonosov is a pilot project and a working prototype for a future fleet of floating nuclear power plants and on-shore installations based on Russian-made SMRs. The small power units will be available for deployment to hard-to-reach areas of Russia’s North and Far East, as well as for export.