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Nuclear energy for Arctic

Russian science sees no alternatives to nuclear installations in Arctic regions. Photo: i-russia.ru

Well-known Russian scientist Nikolay Lavyorov believes Arctic development is impossible without nuclear power plants and icebreakers.

Location

“We cannot develop the North without nuclear icebreakers and nuclear powered installations. We should not expect sufficient climate warming. The ice melting factor is greatly exaggerated”, academic Lavyorov says to RIA.ru.

He is a vice-president of the Russian Academy of sciences, and underlines Russia has experience in making small-scale nuclear power plants (NPP) on the far north. Bilibino NPP is a good example.

“Unfortunately this experience is not large, but we shouldn’t abandon this positive experience. Besides, the new nuclear power installations are much better and more safe than the ones in Bilibino”, Lavyorov says.

“I think it will be extremely difficult to develop regions in the high north without small-scale nuclear energy”, he says.

The Bilibino nuclear plant is located in Chukotka Autonomous District. The only nuclear plant, located in the permafrost region has four reactors with total capacity of 48 MW.