Rusatom Overseas said on 6 August it had received a licence from regulator Rostechnadzor for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Yakutia. “This is an important step towards the successful implementation of the project, the completion of which is scheduled for 2028,” said Oleg Sirazetdinov, Vice President of Rusatom Overseas. The licence was obtained as part of the project for the construction of a low-power land-based NPP (ASMM) with a RITM-200N reactor at the Ust-Kuyga village of the Ust-Yansky district of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
To obtain a licence, Rusatom Overseas has to pass the necessary inspection by the Central Interregional Territorial Administration for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of Rostechnadzor. The project in Yakutia is based on Rosatom's reference technology with RITM-200 reactors, designed taking into account many years of experience in operating small reactors on ships of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet. In October 2020, the flagship icebreaker of the new generation Arktika with these reactors became part of the nuclear fleet and is already operating on the routes of the Northern Sea Route. Six more RITM-200 units will be installed on the icebreakers of Project 22220 under construction.
In December 2020, Rosatom State Corporation and the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) entered into an agreement setting the electricity tariff within the framework of the project for the construction of the ASMM. Currently, most of the survey work at the station construction site has been completed, a preliminary version of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) materials and the licence substantiation materials (MOL) have been developed. On 22 June, in the village of Ust-Kuyga, public hearings were held on the environmental impact assessment of the project. The start of the construction is scheduled for 2024.
Photo: Rosatom is planning to build a small nuclear power plant in the Arctic region of Yakutia (Credit: Rosatom)
