Vladimir Vorobyov, Head of Quality and Safety Laboratory of WWER Department of Nuclear Reactor Institute of Kurchatov Institute

– Many Russian regions would like to have own source of nuclear energy

Nizhniy Novgorod NPP project was presented in Nizhniy Novgorod Dec 19 2008. Governor of Nizhniy Novgorod region Valery Shantsev, Head of Department for Contacts with Public Organizations and Regions Igor Konyshev, Deputy Director General-Director for Development of Energoatom Concern OJSC Dmitry Tveritinov, Director General of VNIIAES Sergey Boyarkin, Director of Nizhniy Novgorod Atomenergoproekt Valery Limarenko attended the presentation. The designers said that the project would cost 268.7bln RUR. The plant will have four 1,150MW reactors. The 1st unit will be launched in 2016, the 2nd unit — in 2018, the 3rd unit — in 2019, the 4th unit — in 2020.

In 1989 Nizhniy Novgorod region was ready to launch a 500MW nuclear power plant but the project was never started. I think that the burning of organic fuel is not the right way to solve the energy problems of the region as this method poisons the air. Today, Nizhniy Novgorod region is short of energy. That’s why it is planning to build a nuclear power plant. The plant will have WWER reactors. I think that NPP is the right decision in terms of both economic efficiency and ecological safety, of course, of all technical safety standards are observed. Today, many Russian regions would like to have an own source of nuclear energy as it would give them ecological safety and energy autonomy.