Russia to Construct Floating Nuclear Power Plants

(Dreamstime)

Rosatom, a Russian state-owned energy group, is partnering with the Republican of Guinea to construct floating nuclear power plants, Newsweek reported.

The energy group signed an agreement with the country during a St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week. The floating nuclear power plants will be equipped with RITM-200 reactors, according to Newsweek.

“The cooperation involves joint work on developing a power supply solution both to industrial and domestic consumers in the Republic of Guinea, by deploying floating nuclear power units with RITM-200 reactors, which have already proven efficient,” Vladimir Aptekarev, deputy head of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division, said in a statement.

Aptekarev said the agreement will enable Rosatom to provide fast and reliable power to the West African nation.

“The signed memorandum supplements the roadmap of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division for the production of advanced equipment for the new generation of nuclear industry and demonstrates the high global interest in our technology,” Aptekarev said.

A floating nuclear power plant is essentially a power station on water, deriving its power from a nuclear reactor.

Rosatom is also finalizing an agreement to sign a nuclear deal with Burkina Faso and is working on a nuclear power plant in Egypt. Rosatom has established relationships with Mali, Zimbabwe, and Burundi and is working to establish relationships with Nigeria and Tanzania, according to Business Insider.

Russia operates a FNPP in Pevek while China has plans to establish nuclear reactors in the South China Sea, according to Newsweek.