Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear agency, has released on behalf of the Russian Presidential office, the New General Scheme (Novoi Genskhemi) for the placement and building of 37 new nuclear power units inside Russia by 2042, that will meet the objective that nuclear power will supply 25% of all of Russia’s electricity generation by the year 2045, Nuclear Engineering International reported August 26. The plan will now be open for public discussion.
Thirteen new nuclear plants are scheduled to be built in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East, with a rated installed capacity of 12.7 gigawatts, where electricity consumption is growing. Russia is spending a lot to build transport infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and homes in Siberia, and the Far East, to increase the population in these two sparsely populated regions, and overcome the impediments of extreme cold, permafrost, etc. Ironically, as the Western physical economies contract, Russia is attempting to increase its potential relative population density.
The project provides for the construction of replacement capacities for the older Smolensk, Leningrad, Beloyarsk, Kursk, etc. plants, but also the building of at least 11 new nuclear power plants in established regions. Rosatom General Director Alexei Likhachev brought out the enthusiasm for the new general scheme, “The new general scheme provides for the construction of 28 GW of new nuclear power generation [in toto] by 2042. By implementing such an ambitious task, we will be able to provide the country’s regions with clean energy for decades to come and create the basis for strong economic growth.”
