PEVEK, RUSSIA — The floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov has been connected to the electricity grid and successfully produced power for the first time in the Russian town of Pevek.
Back in August, the vessel had set out on a three-week journey from the port of Murmansk, as reported by the Associated Press.
As it is not self-propelled, the floating power unit was towed by a fleet of tugboats to the Russian town when it arrived on September 14.
The vessel is 144 meters long and 30 meters wide, according to a news release from Rosatom, the company that designed the floating plant.
The Akademik Lomonosov is equipped with two reactor systems, each with a 35-megawatt capacity. The reactors produce steam for a turbine that will then generate electricity.
The vessel is designed to provide energy to port cities and offshore gas and oil-extracting platforms.
It is capable of producing enough to power a city of 100,000 inhabitants.
Rosatom claims that the floating nuclear plant is designed with a great margin of safety that exceeds all possible threats, which makes nuclear reactors "invincible" against tsunamis and other natural disasters.
The Associated Press points out environmentalists have criticized the floating nuclear plant as "inherently dangerous" adding that it threatens the clean Arctic region.
But Russia has dismissed these concerns, insisting that a floating nuclear power plant is completely safe.
