Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to expand the deployment of nuclear power plants across the country’s Far East, Siberia and Urals (Russian government statement, 20/08/2026).
According to the statement, Russia intends to commission approximately 30 GW of new nuclear capacity, including small nuclear power plants, in line with its long-term industry plans.
Putin said the programme would not only replace generating units progressively reaching the end of their operating lives, but also substantially increase the country’s overall nuclear generation capacity. “Most importantly, the geographic distribution of these power units is planned to be expanded. Modern nuclear power plants will be built in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East,” Putin said.
The aim is to establish a strong foundation for infrastructure development, supporting long-term regional and territorial growth and enabling the development of “new, energy-intensive production sites,” including facilities dedicated to the deep processing of natural resources in the Arctic, Siberia and the Far East.
The head of Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom said the company plans to decommission 13 nuclear power units, representing more than 10 GW of capacity, over the next decade. This would account for around one-third of the units currently in operation. Against this backdrop, government plans call for the construction of 38 new units. “As of today, we have already reached nine sites. In total, including small and floating nuclear power plants, 18 power units are under construction in Russia," he added.
According to our data, gas largely dominates the power mix, with 42% in 2025, followed by nuclear and coal with 19% each, and hydropower with 17%. Russia aims to increase the share of nuclear generation in Russia to 25% by 2045, according to the government statement.
According to the Russian Federation Energy Strategy until 2050 (2025), the installed capacity is set to increase from 253 GW in 2023 to at least 275 GW by 2030, 287 GW by 2036, and 331 GW by 2050, and the renewable capacity is expected to rise by more than 40% by 2050. Nuclear power makes up half of power project capacity under construction and almost 70% of capacity under development (Enerdata Global Energy Research).
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