With its new initiative, Rosatom will this time provide electricity to mines in the remote region of Siberia.
Another permit has been obtained for the construction of the on-board small modular reactor plant (SMR) with RITM-200N reactor to be built in the Sakha Republic of Yakutia in northeastern Siberia. The Russian Nuclear Safety Authority has granted a license to Rusatom Overseas A.Ş., a subsidiary of Rosatom, for the construction of a 50-megawatt SMR to be installed in the region.
The SMR, which will have a lifespan of 60 years, will be built in the Ust-Yansky region, an isolated point on the border of the Arctic Ocean. The construction date of the SMR, which will begin in 2024, is planned for 2028.
In a statement made by Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, it was stated that this small power plant will employ 800 people from the community living around the reindeer herds and gold mines. Rosatom officials said, “The Kioutchous gold mine is the largest unused mine in Yakutia. It was impossible to transport enough fuel there to power the generators. Therefore, the best thing to do was to build a small modular reactor facility in the region.”
Russia took the lead in the race
Civil nuclear industrialists in developed countries and many American start-ups have been in a great race for a long time to develop SMRs, which are an important option for countries with small power transmission network capacity. At the end of 10 years, EDF, a France-based power transmission company, TechnicAtome and CEA had started the initial work on the development of a small 300-400 MW modular reactor called Nuward. Russia, on the other hand, took a few steps ahead of France in the race with this move in Yakutia.