SMRs to propel the development of the Arctic: New Nuclear

September 03, 2021

Four Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) will power Baimskaya’s massive copper and gold mining development in the Russian Arctic, according to an agreement signed by Rosatom subsidiary Atomflot. The company’s chief executive, Mustafa Kashka, said the deal was important for the entire global small reactor market.

Atomenergomash Managing Director Andrey Nikipelov and Atomflot Managing Director Mustafa Kashka signed cooperation agreements for the implementation of infrastructure projects in the Arctic, including the supply of energy to the Baimskaya mine through floating power units (Image: Rosatom)

Baimskaya is one of the largest mineral deposits in the world and is very rich in copper and gold. However, the development of the remote site in Russia’s eastern Chukotka region requires a complex multi-partner regional plan involving the Russian government, regional government and developers KAZ Minerals, which itself expects to spend up to $ 8 billion. dollars ($ 110 million). Among all the partners, more than 150 billion rubles will be spent on power plants and transmission of the future mine.

Today the project has moved forward with the signing of a “preliminary agreement” for the power supply by Kashka and Oleg Novachuk, chairman of KAZ Minerals subsidiary GDK Baimskaya in Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

“Thanks to the agreement with Atomflot, it is possible to economically develop the larger Baimskaya field, which is located in a remote area where there is no suitable infrastructure,” Novachuk said.

Nuclear energy is already playing a role in the development of Baimskaya since the first installations there are supplied by the Akademik Lomonosov Pevek floating nuclear power plant. KAZ Minerals said the plant will provide up to 20 MWe of nuclear power to the mine during its construction phase.

In operation, more than 300 MWe will be needed for Baimskaya as well as a new port to be built at Cape Nagloynyn, according to statements by KAZ Minerals. The agreement provides that this demand will be met by two new floating power plants, each with two RITM-200M reactors. The first two are expected to be operational at Cape Nagloynyn in early 2027, the third in 2028 and the last in early 2031.

The cost of electricity delivered to Cape Nagloynyn will be RUB 6 per kWh at 2020 prices, Atomflot said. This equates to $ 82.42 per MWh. Kashka said: “The deal for such a large volume of electricity was made on commercial terms.” KAZ Minerals documents indicate that LNG had been the alternative.

Kashka celebrated the historic deployment of SMRs: “The agreement with GDK Baimskaya is important not only for the development of Atomflot, but also for the global market for low power transportable nuclear power plants.

Development of Yakutia

Separately, other small nuclear power plants were the subject of another agreement signed by Rosatom Chief Alexey Likhachov with Russian Federation Minister for Far Eastern and Arctic Development Alexei Chekunkov, and the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev.

The signatories will consider the construction of a small power plant to “overcome the main infrastructural limitations of launching promising commercial projects in the northern arctic zone of Yakutsk and ensure the stability of energy supply and electricity prices”.

The “Far Eastern Concession” mechanism will be used for construction, Rosatom said. Chekunkov said that the choice of a concession “is optimal for the rapid implementation of the nuclear power plant construction project, since the creation of a reliable and environmentally friendly energy source in Yakutia is extremely important for socio-economic development of the region, and will also attract new investors and improve the quality of life of the population.

The potential new power plant would be based on RITM-200N reactors, Rosatom said, but no site or timeline has been specified. There is already a power plant project based on a RITM-200N unit in Ust-Kuyga in Yakutia, which is scheduled to start up in 2028.

Research and writing by World Nuclear News