Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, Director of Innovative Power Engineering Institute of Kurchatov Institute

– Central regions of Russia need urgent enhancement of power generating capacities

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.

The central regions of Russia need urgent enhancement of power generating capacities as the core of the national industry, which needs intensive energy supply, is situated in the European part of our country. In this light, the construction of a nuclear power plant in Nizhniy Novgorod region is a justified step.

Nuclear power engineering implies the use of high technologies and, in this particular case, the use of high technologies will boost the development of Nizhniy Novgorod region. Today, people are beginning to better understand what progress and high technologies are and what role they play in the life of an ordinary person. This is especially important for industrial regions, where local authorities are beginning to realize the indispensability of nuclear energy and are taking active steps to build own NPPs. They must explain to their populations what nuclear energy is and how crucial it is for energy stability.

As regards the problem of safety, today statistics show that nuclear power plants are far from the top of the list of the most hazardous facilities. Experts perfectly know this fact and must make it known to the wide public. People must know that nuclear energy has existed for 50 years already and there is no other way but to develop it. As regards pluses and minuses, they must be widely discussed.

I know the industry of Nizhniy Novgorod region quite well. If in the near future it experiences an upsurge, it will become one of the biggest consumers of energy in Russia. Nizhniy Novgorod region has lots of nuclear companies and they will certainly help to effect nuclear renaissance in the region.