Rosatom is considering the possibility of using dry cooling tower technology in the construction of a planned NPP in Uzbekistan, according to Polina Lyon, Director of Rosatom’s Sustainable Development Department, during an event at the Russian pavilion of the UN climate change conference (COP28) in Dubai. She noted that Uzbekistan faces a difficult situation with respect to water with forecasts indicating a serious shortage by 2050. Dry-cooling technology could provide a solution for minimising water consumption in nuclear power production, she added.
In 2017 an agreement was signed with Russia to construct two VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors. Uzbekistan initiated the process to select the site in 2019 and installed a monitoring station for data collection on seismological, hydrological, meteorological and environmental parameters. In July 2022, Uzatom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the field of nuclear infrastructure development with Rosatom Technical Academy and Russian nuclear utility Rosenergoatom. In November, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said contract negotiations were in their final stages, adding that Rosatom had conducted survey works at the site and had made additional proposals for low power reactors.
Image: Model of the nuclear power plant planned for construction in Uzbekistan (courtesy of Rosatom)
