The state corporation Rosatom has signed an agreement to supply two floating nuclear power plants to Indonesia. They may become the first operational nuclear power plants in the history of Southeast Asia. At the request of the Vedomosti newspaper, Georgy Tikhomirov, deputy director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Technology at MEPhI, commented on the deal. Below, we publish the full text of the comment.

Floating nuclear thermal power plant “Akademik Lomonosov”. Photo: State Corporation “Rosatom”

- Do other companies have similar projects that have been implemented? Which ones?

- There are no implemented projects for floating nuclear power units in the world other than the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant. There are several projects in the design stage in the USA, Canada, France, and a number of other countries.

- What prospects do you see for floating stations? In which other countries is the deployment of such stations relevant?

- In my opinion, floating nuclear power plants or floating nuclear thermal power plants have great prospects for countries with extensive coastlines, including areas lacking centralized electricity and/or heat supply. If such areas have economic development potential, they need energy. In addition to Russia and Indonesia, countries such as Canada, the Philippines, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden can confidently be included among such countries.

- How do you assess the need for floating power plants worldwide? What capacity can we talk about?

- In my opinion, it’s too early to talk about the need for floating power plants, as sufficient experience in their use has not yet been accumulated, and it is difficult to assess the real cost of the energy and heat generated. However, over the next 10–15 years, the situation may change significantly as a result of accumulated experience and the emergence of new real projects.