Russia spreads nuclear funds around

26 February 2010

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin announced the allocation of 53 billion roubles ($1.77 billion) of federal money towards the construction of new nuclear power in 2010.
 

Putin (Image: Government of the Russian Federation)

Putin announces the funding

 (Image: Government of the Russian Federation)

Putin announced the funding for domestic new build in a meeting on investment in the Russian power industry on 24 February.

 

The 53 billion roubles of federal money is part of Rosenergoatom's investment program for the year worth a total of 163.3 billion roubles ($5.45 billion) including 101.7 billion roubles ($3.39 billion) for nuclear plant construction with almost half of this coming from Rosenergoatom funds.

 

As well as the funding for new reactor construction, the Russian government has confirmed a development program that will see fast neutron reactors become a technological priority in the next decade. Plans call for the continuation of the existing sodium-cooled fast reactor program with units of about 800 MWe, with a 100 MWe lead-bismuth-cooled fast reactor, known as SVBR (Svintsovo-Vismutovyi Bystryi Reaktor ) to be built by 2015. This is to be followed by a lead-cooled 300 MWe BREST fast reactor by 2020. In addition, a 150 MWt multi-purpose fast research reactor (MBIR) is to be built by 2020. The total fast reactor budget to 2020 is about 60 billion roubles ($2 billion), largely from the federal budget. The program is intended to result in a 70% growth in exports of high technology equipment, works and services rendered by the Russian nuclear industry by 2020.

  

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News