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Publish date: November 1, 2004
News
The State Duma committee on energy, transport and communication recommended the Russian Government to include this project into the Federal program “Energy efficient economy” in 2005 and until 2010. This decision was taken at the extended meeting of the committee on October 13. The committee also recommended including this project into the federal budget of 2005. The chairman of the Duma Environment committee said he was glad that the nuclear industry which “used to create environmental problems” now “solves the environmental problems”. “This is the right direction of the nuclear industry development” Grachev said.
The Duma’s initiative was promptly supported by the pro-Kremlin party United Russia on October 25. Its General Council recommended the federal budget to allocate the money in 2005-2010 to construct a new fast-breeder reactor BN-800 at the Beloyarsk NPP. The General Council approved the initiative of the Sverdlovsk department of the United Russia party to hold the construction of the fourth fast-breeder unit under patronage.
On October 28, the Russian nuclear agency’s puppet NGO “Environmental Forum” suggested a federal program “Development of the fast neutron energy with closed nuclear fuel cycle”. The first stage of the program includes completion and launch of the BN-800 fast neutron reactor. The meeting demanded a separate line with $76m in the state budget for the next year, UralPolit.ru reported.
The lifetime of the only Russia’s fast-breeder reactor BN-600 at the Beloyarsk NPP ends in 2010. The new reactor unit can be finished only in 2015 with the current scarce financing.
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.