Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power station has formally been handed over to state-owned nuclear operator Rosenergoatom after final maintenance works on the hull had been completed on a drydock in Murmansk.
Rosenergoatom said in a statement that construction of the plant has been given formal completion with the signing of the final acceptance certificate. The floating plant was built by Russia’s Baltic Shipyard.
Last month, Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor issued a 10-year licence to Rosenergoatom to operate the Akademik Lomonosov until 2029.
In August, the Akademik Lomonosov is scheduled be towed from Murmansk to its base in Pevek, an Arctic port town in the country’s far northeastern autonomous district of Chukotka.
Work is underway in Pevek on coastal infrastructure needed to attach the floating plant to city power and heating grids.
The Akademik Lomonosov is scheduled to begin commercial operation at Pevek by the end of 2019.
The vessel will be first in a proposed fleet of floating plants with small pressurised water reactor units that can provide energy, heat and desalinated water to remote and arid areas of Russia.
The 21,000-tonne vessel has two Russian-designed KLT-40S reactor units with an electrical power generating capacity of 35 MW each, sufficient for a city with a population of around 200,000 people.
