After a year, the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant has arrived in the Russian city of Pevek

End of the journey of the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant, which after spending a year sailing, has finally reached the Russian city of Pevek

In the past year there has been great concern about the journey of the world's first floating nuclear power plant. Greenpeace has dubbed it the 'nuclear Titanic' or 'Chernobyl in ice'. During this time that it has been in transit to the port of destination, there has been much concern about Akademik Lomonosov. Above all, it was feared that it would suffer an accident and sink or be attacked.

Basically the Akademik Lomonosov nuclear power plant is a ship that is 144 meters long and 30 meters wide. This merchant ship weighs 21 tons and carries a nuclear power plant. It took this ship a year to travel the 5 kilometers to reach Pevek, a remote town in the autonomy district of Chulotk, in Siberia. It will be in the area for a year to supply electricity.

The first floating nuclear power plant arrives at port

This floating nuclear power plant does not have engines to push it. The ship lacks a propulsion system, so it has had to be towed by ships. For much of the journey the ship did not carry nuclear fuel either. This is because to get to Pevek it has had to cross Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish waters.

Already in Russian waters, it has stopped in the city of Murmansk to receive the nuclear material. Now it is in Pevek, where it will replace the Bilibino nuclear power plant, which has been in operation since 1974 and has become obsolete. It can only supply 45MW, which is already insufficient. But it will also replace the Chaunskaya thermal power plant, which has been in operation for 70 years.

Akademik Lomonosov is a floating nuclear power plant with two KLT-40S nuclear reactors. These reactors generate up to 70MW of electricity and a heat energy of 50Gcal / h. It is very little compared to the most modern nuclear power plants, which offer up to 1MW. Despite everything, the 000MW is enough to serve the 70 inhabitants of the city of Pevek.

Meanwhile environmental organizations warn that this floating nuclear power plant is much more unsafe than a conventional one. It is because it is exposed to storms and incidents during its navigation. If an accident were to occur, the contamination would be vastly more serious than an accident at a land plant. This would be due to ocean currents.

Russian authorities say the Lomonosov will be good for the environment. They emphasize that it will allow the closure of the current obsolete thermal plants, which consume oil and other polluting materials.

Source: TX