Aim is to replace ageing units at existing site near border with Finland
Russia’s federal nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has issued site licences for the first two proposed units at the new Kola nuclear power station, about 150 km from the border with Finland in northwest Russia, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
The decision means that the site, 10 km south of the existing Kola nuclear station on the shores of Lake Imandra in the Murmansk region, meets requirements.
The general contractor, Titan-2, will start site preparation by laying access roads, clearing forests and creating a construction and installation base.
“In preparation for the plant’s construction, we are working with the general designer and general contractor to develop the construction technology, timeframe, and safety issues,” said Nikolai Rusakov, deputy director for capital construction at Kola.
“I am confident that the coordinated work of all participants will allow us to begin the main construction phase on schedule.”
Rosatom has said it is planning to build four new units at Kola. They will be VVER-S plants, a 600 MW pressurised water reactor under development, with the first two to be built between 2027 and 2037.
The new units are intended to replace the existing four Kola units as they come to the end of their operating lives.
They are VVER-440 reactors at the existing Kola site. They each have a capacity of 411 MW and according to International Atomic Energy Agency data began commercial operation between 1973 and 1984.
Rosatom said the construction of the Kola NPP-2 is a project that will shape the future of the Murmansk region for decades to come.
“The new power units will replace the decommissioned capacity of the existing plant, which is nearing the end of its service life, and maintain the region's energy balance,” it said.
