Legal provision of environmental safety of floating nuclear power plants in the Arctic

Abstract

According to the Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation, the generation of electric energy by nuclear power plants has increased by 25% over the past decade. Floating nuclear power plants (or FNPP) are promising technology in the field of using atomic energy in low–power nuclear installations. Compactness and mobility are the main advantages of the NPP, which make it possible to provide thermal power to consumers in the most remote territories, including in the Russian Federation, without the need to build an integrated nuclear infrastructure. The only Russian FNPP in the world, «Academic Lomonosov», is stationed in Pevek, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. EU countries and China are interested in building their own thermal power plants. Russian Federation has planned the construction of several new FNPPs to ensure the operation of the Baimsky GOK. The emergence of a multifaceted and relatively new facility for the use of atomic energy calls for the need to analyze the current international and national legislation capable of ensuring environmentally safe operation.