Nizhniy Novgorod plans nuclear power plant
08 May 2008
The governor of the Nizhniy Novgorod region of Russia has said that a nuclear power plant will be constructed either in the Urensky district or the Vyksunsky industrial area under the federal government's nuclear energy plans to 2020.
According to Valery Shantsev: "Presently, the region, especially its northern part, urgently needs electricity. We are planning to solve this problem by building a nuclear power plant and a combined cycle [gas-fired] power plant."
Sergei Kiriyenko, director general of the Rosatom corporation, had earlier recommended speeding up of the project to construct a nuclear power plant in the Nizhniy Novgorod region. In a press conference in October 2007, he said "Under the general scheme, the first unit of Nizhniy Novgorod nuclear power plant is to be launched in 2016, the second unit in 2018. I think that the plant should have four units, but for the time being we are planning just two units. If we want to launch the first unit in 2016 we have to start the preparatory work in 2009 and the project in 2011."
More than $10 billion will reportedly be invested in the plant, which will could eventually consist of four 1150 MWe VVER reactors.
In April 2007, the Nizhniy Novgorod regional government and Rosatom signed a cooperation agreement. Under the framework of the agreement, the region and Rosatom were to consider the feasibility of constructing nuclear power plans in Nizhniy Novgorod.
The plant in Nizhniy Novgorod was included in the Russian government's overall scheme, announced in March 2008, for siting power plants up to 2020, including up to 42 new reactors. Under the plan, one VVER-1000 pressurized water reactor and one RBMK-1000 reactor (Kursk 5) will enter operation before 2010. In addition, the world's first floating nuclear power plant with two 35 MW KLT-40C reactors would be launched. The speed of nuclear build accelerates in the period between 2011 and 2015, when one VVER-1000, some eight new VVER-1200 units, and one BN-800 fast reactor are planned to start up. From 2016 to 2020 between 15 and 20 VVER-1200s could be brought online, along with six new-design VBER-300 boiling water reactors. Two more floating plants are slated for completion during this time.