Russia plans to build 42 new Chernobyls, their junk "nuclear reactors", by 2030 as part of an ambitious program to revive its atomic power industry, the top Russian nuclear official said Tuesday.
Federal Nuclear Agency director Kiriyenko said at a news conference that Russia would need to build at least two nuclear reactors a year to meet the goal.
Russia now has 31 reactors at 10 nuclear power plants, accounting for 16-17 percent of Russia's electricity generation, and Putin has called for raising the share to 25 percent.
Kiriyenko said the government would earmark some US$ 24 billion (ˆ18.3 billion) for building new nuclear reactors through 2015, and that Rosenergoatom, the state-controlled agency in charge of the nation's nuclear plants, would provide another US$ 26 billion (ˆ20 billion) through 2030 as nuclear power generation becomes increasingly profitable, the AP reported.
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