The first of the four floating NPPs (the PEB-106 project), planned to supply energy to mining projects in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is planned to be commissioned in 2028, according to the deputy head of Rosatom’s Engineering Division, Vladimir Aptekarev,
FNPPs are to be used to power the development projects in the Baim ore zone. In the Bilibinsky district of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the largest project for the construction of a mining and processing plant based on the Peschanka copper-porphyry field is being implemented. The volume of investments in the project was estimated at RUB900bn ($10bn). However, Georgy Fotin, Director General of Baimskaya Management Company, said in April, that the assessment had been revised upwards and some RUB170bn had already been invested.
The annual ore processing capacity is expected to be 70m tonnes and the estimated capital budget is about $8bn. The resources of the Peschanka field in the Baim region, are estimated by the JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) at 9.9m tonnes of copper and 16.6m ounces of gold. It is expected that the volume of tax revenues at the launch of the mining and processing plant to budgets of all levels will amount to RUB1000bn.
The gross regional product of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug will increase by 100%, which will make the region subsidy-free. The project is included in the strategies for the socio-economic development of the Far East until 2025 and the socio-economic development of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug until 2030.
The Baim project will be supplied with electricity using the new FNPPs of the PEB-106 project, designed for operation in the Far North and Far East. They will use the new RITM-200S reactors, which will supply 106 MWe to consumers. Their service life is 40 years and the interval between refuelling is five years. The units will be held in place by rigid mooring devices, which make it possible to compensate for the movement of the power units from the ebb and flow. The power generated by the power unit is transmitted to the shore using 50 high-voltage cables. Three main floating power units and one reserve unit will be installed, which will be used during the repair of the main units.
The family of RITM type reactors are widely used in projects of low-power power plants of various designs. In October 2020, the lead universal nuclear icebreaker of project 22220 Arktika with two RITM-200 reactors became part of the nuclear fleet; it is already operating on the Northern Sea Route. Based on this, the RITM-200N reactor core was developed for a ground-based low-power nuclear power plant in Yakutia and the RITM-200S for FNPPs. The world’s first FNPP, Akademik Lomonosov, with two smaller KLT-40S reactors, was put into commercial operation in 2020 at Pevek on the Chukotka Peninsula.
