The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, Rosatom and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) signed an agreement on the implementation of a carbon-free nuclear power generation project
The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, Rosatom and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) signed an agreement on the implementation of a carbon-free nuclear power generation project The Far East concession mechanism will be used to develop small-scale nuclear power generation in Yakutia.
7 September 2021An agreement on the implementation of a carbon-free nuclear power generation project between Rosatom State Corporation, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was signed on 3 September 2021 at the Eastern Economic Forum.
The agreement was signed by Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom State Corporation, Aleksey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, and Aysen Nikolaev, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
As part of the signed agreement, the parties will explore the possibility of using a concession model (supported by VEB.RF subsidiary VEB Infrastructure) to implement a project for the construction of a small nuclear power plant (SNPP) with a RITM-200N reactor unit in Yakutia. The construction of the SNPP will help overcome the major infrastructure constraints of launching promising commercial projects in the North Yakutia Arctic zone and ensure the stability of energy supply and electricity prices. The plant will have an electrical capacity of at least 55 MW and service life of up to 60 years.
The document provides for the joint elaboration of a plan for the integrated social and economic development of the Arctic territories of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): modernising energy infrastructure, providing the maximum number of consumers with energy, improving the transport and social infrastructure of the Ust-Kuyga settlement and the Ust-Yansky ulus (district).
The Far Eastern concession mechanism will be used for the construction. 'The choice of the concession is optimal for the speedy implementation of the SNPP construction project, as the creation of a reliable and environmentally safe source of energy in Yakutia is extremely important for the socioeconomic development of the region, and it will attract new investors to the region and improve the quality of life of the population,' explained Aleksey Chekunkov.
'Since 2018, we are fast-tracking the project to build a small nuclear power plant in the Russian Arctic, which is a new benchmark for a clean and reliable energy source serving the region and its population,' said Alexey Likhachev.
The Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Aysen Nikolaev, noted that Rosatom's projects are important for the socioeconomic development of the republic's North-East and the Arctic.