Russia Launches Floating Nuclear Plant, Heads Towards Arctic Port; Environmentalist Criticises The Move
A floating nuclear power plant built in Russia is now heading towards its final destination at an Arctic port so its reactors can be loaded with fuel.
St. Petersburg, May 1: A floating nuclear power plant built in Russia is now heading towards its final destination at an Arctic port so its reactors can be loaded with fuel. Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom launched the controversial craft over the weekend. The floating plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, was tugged out of the St. Petersburg shipyard on Saturday. It will reach Murmansk in northwest Russia after sailing through the Baltic Sea and around the northern tip of Norway. Its reactors will be fueled in Murmansk.
"The nuclear power plant has two KLT-40S reactor units that can generate up to 70 MW of electric energy and 50 Gcal/hr of heat energy during its normal operation,” reported NPR, quoting Rosatom. The Lomonosov will be put into service in 2019 in the Arctic off the coast of Chukotka in the far east. This nuclear plant will provide power for a port town having a population around 100,000 and for oil rigs.
Environmentalists criticised the project. According to a report published in CBS, Greenpeace has dubbed it a "floating Chernobyl.” In a statement, Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear expert at Greenpeace said, "To test a nuclear reactor in a densely populated area like the centre of St. Petersburg is irresponsible, to say the least," reported CBS. Haverkamp added further added, "However, moving the testing of this 'nuclear Titanic' away from the public eye will not make it less so: Nuclear reactors bobbing around the Arctic Ocean will pose a shockingly obvious threat to a fragile environment which is already under enormous pressure from climate change."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2018 02:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).