Russia is constructing eight floating nuclear power plants in the Arctic to provide energy to oil rigs. Each station costs $400m, can supply heat and electricity to communities of up to 45,000 people, and is expected to be used once every 12 years. Environmentalists and non-Russians are concerned about the potential for a nuclear disaster and the disputed land where the plants are being built. The stations are deemed safe by Russian scientists and are expected to tap around 75 billion barrels of oil. Up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas is thought to be found in the Arctic.
Russia is building eight floating nuclear power plants in the Arctic to supply energy to oil rigs. Each station costs US$400 million, can supply heat and electricity to communities of as many as 45,000 people, and is only expected to be used once every 12 years. Environmentalists and many non-Russians are wary of the project due to the potential for a nuclear disaster and because part of the land where the plants are being built is disputed. Russian scientists say the stations are completely safe and estimate they will be able to tap around 75 billion barrels of oil when the stations are operational.
Read more about Arctic oil:
Up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas is thought to be found in the Arctic.
With an average global oil consumption of about 86 billion barrels per day, untapped Arctic oil could supply the entire world for three years.
According to the US Minerals Management Service, the chances of an oil spill during extensive exploration and drilling are about one in five. There is no way to clean up the spilled oil under the ice sheets that cover much of the Arctic.
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