Rosenergoatom has signed a new contract with the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard for the completion of the first floating nuclear power plant. The construction of the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear plant started in 2007 in Severodvinsk but was suspended by the shipyard's bankruptcy risks, delaying the commissioning (initially expected in 2012). According to Rosenergoatom, over 90% of the work has been completed on the hull of the Akademik Lomonosov. The turbo-generators have already been installed, while the two 35 MW KLT-40S nuclear reactors - similar to those used in Russia's nuclear-powered ice breakers - have been assembled and delivered to the shipyard ready for installation. The first batch of fuel for the floating plant has also already been produced. With the new contract, the plant is now scheduled for commissioning in 2016.
The Akademik Lomonosov reactor is a particularly flexible example of the Small and Medium sized Reactors (SMR) nuclear reactors that are under development worldwide. The interest of SMRs is driven both by a desire to lower the cost of financing nuclear energy and to provide power away from large grid systems. But their flexibility introduce new risk considerations ; particularly for Floating reactors that are designed to change locales.
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