Russian Nuclear Deals: News

Russia's plans to build nuclear power plants abroad

Russia is an acclaimed world leader in the number of nuclear power plants it is building abroad. It accounts for 16% of the market in this area. Foreign demand for the Russian technologies and trained specialists exceeds supply. Long term experience and efficient proposals are the two key factors that allow Russia to surpass its competitors, experts believe.

Over the last three years, the number of foreign orders for the construction of Russian nuclear power plants has doubled. By early 2014 the volume of orders of Rosatom reached 98 billion USD. The company is getting ready to build 20 new energy plants all over the world. The newest technologies and the colossal experience bring Russia to the leading position in this market, says Sergey Novikov, Rosatom Corporation’s head of the department of public relations:

"The energy blocks we are offering already exist – they have been built and are now in service. The newest of them are in China at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant. These are 3+ generation blocks, which meet all the modern security standards. That NPP has been acknowledged by the Chinese inspection authorities as the safest of all the stations in the country. It has one of the best operating characteristics in the world. To our partners we are not selling a power plant, which exists either as a design or only at the construction stage, but we sell an existing well-tested technology".

During the construction of the nuclear power plant Russian specialists pay special attention to security. An NPP operator has to be always ready for any emergency situations and has to know how much time is available to return the system to its normal condition. The enhanced security standards were introduced after the Fukushima disaster. A similar situation is impossible at the Russian NPPs, says Vladimir Asmolov, deputy director of Rosenergoatom:

"The current Russian designs if compared to the accident that took place in Fukushima allow controlling the accident within 72 hours. If we take a purely Fukushima scenario, a Russian station can run autonomously for about a month. This is clear not only in Russia, but also in the countries that are only now introducing nuclear energy. Our plants already built demonstrate these qualities not on paper, but in reality. There is a very serious scientific foundation, which supports all that".

Foreign partners have long appreciated the advantages of the Russian NPP. The geography of cooperation is quite impressive. Russia has signed agreements to build nuclear power plants in Hungary, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Finland, Kazakhstan and Belarus. In the process of construction are the third and fourth stages of NPP in India. Two new NPP are to be built in the Iranian province of Bushehr and one in Jordan. Russian specialists are engaged not only in construction work, but also in the business processes. For the countries that only now starting to launch nuclear energy generation it is especially important, says Sergey Novikov, head of the PR department of the Rosatom Corporation:

"These countries are only now building their first nuclear power plants – such countries as Turkey, Bangladesh and Vietnam – we are also involved in helping them train their personnel. We are helping in the creation and consult in forming new legislation in the area of employing nuclear energy, in forming new supervising institutions".

Besides the construction of traditional NPP, Russian specialists are developing unique processes to create floating nuclear stations. Such NPPs do not require much maintenance, are completely energy independent and are meant for generating energy in remote areas, such as the Arctic and Kamchatka. The first floating NPP in the world called Academician Lomonosov has already been built. In the future it is planned to build about ten such stations. Asian partners got immediately interested in the innovative ideas. During president Putin’s visit to China a decision was made regarding joint construction of a floating NPP.

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_06_18/Russias-plans-to-build-nuclear-power-plants-abroad-5971/