Rosatom to update small-capacity nuclear plant program by year's end

NOVOSIBIRSK. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Rosatom Group will update the comprehensive program for small-capacity nuclear power plants by the end of this year, the head of small capacity NPP projects at the state corporation's subsidiary Rusatom Overseas, Vitaly Pakermanov said at the Tekhnoprom-2024 forum in Novosibirsk on Thursday.

"By the end of the year we plan to update the comprehensive program and include in the Atom nuclear project all points from the [comprehensive program to "develop equipment, technology and research in the use of nuclear energy in Russia" that Rosatom developed with the Kurchatov Institute]," he said.

He said small-capacity projects are based on three types of reactors: Ritm-200n, Shelf-M and the new Ritm-400, which are ice breaker reactors.

Small-capacity NPPs are effective in remote northern regions without centralized energy systems, Pakermanov said. All the types of plants are modular and up to six units can be placed on one site.

The pilot small-capacity project is still the project in Yakutia based on Ritm-200n reactors with 55 MW generating units, he said.

"Initially, the plant was planned for the main consumer, the Kichus gold ore deposit, and to supply the nearby village of Ust-Kuiga, but in the course of the project's implementation other resource users also expressed a desire to take advantage of nuclear energy and develop other deposits, specifically the Deputatskoye and Tirekhtyakh tin deposits," Pakermanov said.

The tin deposits will use a combined 31 MW, so a decision was made to switch to a two-unit plant and the project is being modified, he said.

An onshore small plant based on the Shelf-M reactor is planned for installation near the Chukotka village of Egvekinot, close to the Sovinoye deposit. The technical design for the reactor system is in the works.

"It will be a four-unit nuclear power plant by 2030, consumption of up to 35-40 MW is expected. Four modules, this will make it possible to create a substantial industrial cluster in the Chukotka Autonomous District. The design of the reactor equipment and main equipment is scheduled for completion in December of this year," Pakermanov said.

There are also plans to build a four-unit plant based on the Ritm-400 reactor by around 2035 to supply power for the Norilsk Industrial District, he said.