Russian floating nuclear power station
Floating nuclear power stations (Russian: плавучая атомная теплоэлектростанция малой мощности, ПАТЭС ММ, lit. 'floating combined heat and power (CHP) low-power nuclear power plant') are vessels designed by Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation. They are self-contained, low-capacity, floating nuclear power plants. Rosatom plans to mass-produce the stations at shipbuilding facilities and then tow them to ports near locations that require electricity.
Model of the Project 20870 (back) with a desalination unit (front) | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Baltic Shipyard |
| Operators | Rosatom |
| Built | 2007-2018 |
| In service | 19 December 2019-present |
| Planned | at least 7 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Active | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Nuclear power station barge |
| Displacement | 21,500 tonnes |
| Length | 144.4 m (474 ft) |
| Beam | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Height | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Draught | 5.6 m (18 ft) |
| Propulsion | none |
| Crew | 69 |
| Notes | 2 modified KLT-40S nuclear reactors (icebreaker type) producing 70 MW electric or 300 MW heat power |
The work on such a concept dates back to the MH-1A in the United States, which was built in the 1960s into the hull of a World War II Liberty Ship, which was followed on much later in 2022 when the United States Department of Energy funded a three-year research study of offshore floating nuclear power generation. The Rosatom project is the first floating nuclear power plant intended for mass production. The initial plan was to manufacture at least seven of the vessels by 2015. On 14 September 2019, Russia’s first-floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, arrived to its permanent location in the Chukotka region. It started operation on 19 December 2019.