Russia launches floating nuclear power plant

The Akademik Lomonosov is said to be capable of generating enough power for a town of up to 100,000 people

Russia has launched what it says is the world’s first floating power plant.

ROSATOM said the ‘Akademik Lomonosov’ has been towed out of the St. Petersburg shipyard where it was constructed and will now be moved to a base in Murmansk for nuclear fuel loading.

The state-owned nuclear company added the craft will then be taken to the Arctic port of Pevek in the summer of 2019, where it will be put into service.

It is designed to produce power in remote regions of Russia’s extreme north and far east and is said to be capable of generating enough power for a town of up to 100,000 people.

A ROSATOM spokesperson said: “The Lomonosov is designed with the great margin of safety that exceeds all possible threats and makes nuclear reactors invincible for tsunamis and other natural disasters.

“In addition, the nuclear processes at the floating power unit meet all requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and do not pose any threat to the environment.”

Construction of a second floating plant is expected to begin in 2019.

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