‘Have you been in the plant at Kamskie Polyany? Everything that was possible to resume had been taken away!’
The head of Committee of the State Council on economy doubts the need for the resumption of the construction of a nuclear power plant in Tatarstan
The State Council commented on re-emerging rumors about the resumption of the construction of the nuclear power plant in Tatarstan village Kamskie Polyany. According to deputies, there is no urgent need in it, and it will be extremely difficult to resume work after quarter of century. However, the decision will be made by the country's leadership in Moscow.
In far-far…prospect
On 30 March, Director General of JSC Generiruyushchaya companiya Rauzil Khaziev told the jourmalists that the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation is discussing again the possibility of nuclear power plant construction in Tatarstan. 'In the future plans there is a nuclear power plant,' he said.
According to Khaziev, the construction of a nuclear power plant in Tatarstan does take place in the federal programmes. Now this idea is being discussed in the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, explained the head of Generiruyushchaya companiya.
'As for the resumption of the construction the nuclear power plant, it is not a question of the level of our power supplying organization, and even not of our level. Of course, special agencies decide this in the Russian Federation. There is the supervisory body on nuclear issues, a directorate for nuclear energy. Even if such decision is taken, it will be taken at the highest level. Of course, any issue starts at the appropriate level below, then it grows,' told the chairperson of the Committee of State Council of The Republic of Tatarstan on economy, investments and entrepreneurship Rafis Burganov, answering the question to Realnoe Vremya about the possible nuclear power plant in Tatarstan.
'Only bunker doors are left'
'As for the resumption of the construction of that plant…Have you ever been there? You can go and see what can be resumed there sometime. Everything that was possible to elevate with 150-tonnes crane had been taken away. Only that weights more is left, bunker doors and so on. However, things happen, maybe, science will provide us with some new solutions, easier ones,' believes the deputy.
According to him, there is no urgent need in a nuclear power plant. 'We do not feel the shortage of energy resources. What is more, we have a problem what to do with our energy. But it is due to the other reason, it is a little different that the products of our neighbours. Generiruyushchaya companiya will conduct works on the price reduction of our products,' he said.
Remembering Chernobyl
Discussions about the possible nuclear power plant in the Republic appear regularly in Tatarstan since 1990s when the project on the construction of the plant in Kamskie Polyany was frozen due to public pressure. It was in the beginning of 1980s, the plant was in high readiness at the moment of construction cessation, hundreds of millions of Soviet rubles were spent on it. The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 played its role in the decision-making, after the accident the attitude to nuclear power engineering shifted to be extremely negative. Since that it hasn't changed a lot. And in Tatarstan there are still a lot of opponents of the construction of nuclear power plant.
Kamskie Polyany fell into decline after the construction cessation: the plant was to be the main employer of the town, but, as a result, most habitants stayed without jobs. Unavailing attempts of authorities to make 'Tatarstan Las Vegas', by creating a gambling zone there, didn't help. In 2009, Kamskie Polyany was included in the list of monotowns of Russia and received 1.7 billion rubles on construction of industrial park and medical centre there. Despite all attempts, the town has a highest level of unemployment in Tatarstan.
Energy shortage or energy is just expensive?
In November of 2013, the Russian government announced the scheme of territorial planning in the energy sector until 2030 in which there are the construction and enlargement of nine nuclear power plants, including the plant in Kamskie Polyany. It is assumed that in order 'to cover the shortage of the energy balance of the Republic of Tatarstan' two reactors VVER-1200 with power output at 1.15 thousand MWe each will be constructed.
Contrary to the words of Burganov, it has been spoken about energy shortage in Tatarstan for many times. Last time, at the sitting of the Committee of State Counsel of the Republic of Tatarstan on economy, investments and entrepreneurship it was reported that the energy shortage is Tatarstan is 7 billion kWh and is due to 'physical and moral deterioration of generating equipment'. It's almost a quarter of annual consumption, which in 2015 was 27 billion kWh. Now in Tatarstan there are four major producers of electric and thermal energy: it is Generiruyushchaya companiya, TGK-16, Urrusinsk GRES, Nizhnekamsk CHP. In total in 2015 they produced more than 20 billion kWh of electricity, which is 5.8% less than last year, and almost 33 000 Gcal of heat energy.
Saving energy in Tatarstan 'eats' almost 80 billion rubles per year
Against this background, local authorities are partly supported by energy saving measures, and today the State Council deputies listened to the results of the target programme.
Elected representatives of the people were reminded that from 2008 to 2015 Tatarstan spent 43 billion rubles on energy saving measures in apartment houses. In general, it is funds of the apartment owners, as well as municipal institutions and the Housing and Utilities Fund. More than 12 800 houses were repaired on this money, and in 2016 another 800 will be added. Planned programme of major repairs for all houses is until 2043.
The main energy saving measure for today is the installation of a unit of weather control. As the director of MUE Kazan energy service center Evgeny Chekashov told the journalists, in 2014, almost 400 million rubles were spent for the weather control equipment for 500 houses of Kazan, and the saving was 120 million rubles in 2015. In total, for 5 years about 2 billion rubles were spent for energy saving in Kazan. 40% houses of the Republic are provided with such equipment, in Kazan – 55%.
As for the energy saving in general, as it was reported, last year the industry spent 77 billion rubles, the economic benefit was 645 million rubles. The measures allowed increasing of installed capacities of energy system from 6.8 GW to 7.3 GW. However, now operationg capacity does not exceed 3.5 GW, at peak maximum – 4.5 GW. Fuel consumption per a unit of electricity decreased by 2.4%.