Rosatom and Uzbekistan Agree to Reconfigure Nuclear Power Plant Construction Project

The Rosatom State Corporation and Uzbekistan have agreed to reconfigure the nuclear power plant construction project in the country, according to an Interfax correspondent present at the signing ceremony for the documents outlining the main terms of the project.

This involves two units for a small nuclear power plant and two large-capacity units, The Caspian Post reports citing Interfax.

"A decision has already been made, and we are implementing a project for two small [NPP units] based on RITM-200 reactors," Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev told journalists.

"What are we working on now and what, in fact, have we agreed on today? On expanding this project. We are working on the design of an additional two large gigawatt-class nuclear power units at this site," he said.

He said this format would "optimize costs" for construction, and therefore "increase the competitiveness" of electricity, "making it even more attractive to consumers." "In this configuration we will have a base generation of, say, 2,000 MW, if we are opting for thousand [GW] units, and very high maneuverability at the level of another 200 MW [for small units]," Likhachev said.

Asked about the change in the cost of the project due to its reconfiguration, Likhachev said that "the revenue from the small power plant will significantly reduce investment and capital costs at the final stage of construction of large gigawatt capacities."

He did not give absolute figures, saying it was hard to make estimates. "Optimization of sites [large and small], turning them into one common site, will definitely reduce capital costs by up to 10%," Likhachev said.

He said the impact might be even greater if revenue from the small NPP is added before the large one is commissioned.