Russia's reserves of coal and natural gas could be depleted in fifty years. But with around 8% of the world's uranium output, Russia is planning to mine 60-70% of its uranium needs by 2015, with the remainder coming from joint ventures in former Soviet republics, particularly Kazakhstan, which holds 25-30% of the world's uranium reserves.
Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, told a nuclear power seminar Russia has no other option than to focus on atomic energy. "There is no alternative to the development of nuclear power in Russia, which must replace power generated using natural gas."
Russia has the world's largest reserves of natural gas and has become a crucial exporter, particularly for Europe. But the nuclear agency head lauded his sector, saying it was growing regardless of military projects, as market-economy mechanisms were playing an increasingly important role.
Some European governments, in particular the United Kingdom, have decided to look toward atomic energy to provide for their future needs despite environmental activists' protests. And Kiriyenko said the revival of the nuclear sector in his country had been caused by growing energy consumption, a lack of new energy sources in the foreseeable future and unjustified hopes that energy-saving mechanisms could solve an energy deficit.
Electricity consumption increased 5.5% against the planned 2% in the past eight months owing to the country's economic and industrial growth and a rise in retail power consumption.
Kiriyenko, who had a brief stint as prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin in 1998, told RIA Novosti Thursday that Russia was planning to build 42-58 nuclear power units for its own needs by 2030 and 40-50 units abroad in the next 30 years.
Russia currently has 10 operational nuclear power plants with 31 reactors, but Kiriyenko said Russia would need another 300 gigawatts from new plants to cover a projected energy deficit in the next 30 years.
And he reiterated the point at today's seminar. "We will have to commission new energy-generating facilities capable of producing 300 GW by 2030," he said, adding that from 2015 the industry would commission at least two power-generating units a year without governmental subsidies.
Kiriyenko highlighted several key areas in the nuclear industry's development: the division of the industry into the military and civilian branches, budget spending on the construction of nuclear power plants to ensure a 2 GW annual increase, the adoption of a nuclear and radiation security program, the establishment of a single mining company, international centers for nuclear cycle services, the development of fast-neutron reactors and a serial construction of new power units.
