News
Publish date: March 12, 2004
News
The project has been launched to replace the existing power generating facilities as the ministry estimates that by the end of the decade conventional thermal power units with a combined capacity of about 30,000 MW will have to be put out of operation in Russia due to their expired lifetime. The new reactor, with a capacity of 1,500 MW called VVER-1500, is estimated to cost $78m to design, while the construction of a power unit using this type of reactor will cost some $1.3 billion, a Rosenergoatom official told Prime-TASS. The official also said $400m should be spent on designing the reactor this year. According to Rosenergoatom, the construction of the first such reactor may be expected by 2013. The new reactor is to be constructed at the Leningrad NPP.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.