Russia’s state-owned nuclear power group said it will move forward with its power plant projects in foreign countries despite new sanctions from the UK government against Russian companies.
The British government on February 24 announced its largest sanctions measures against Russia, four years after the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. UK officials said Britain was issuing nearly 300 new sanctions as it continues to crack down on Russia’s energy revenues, including its exports of oil. Industry analysts have said Russia’s revenue from oil is at its lowest level since 2020, prior to the start of the war. British officials were in Kyiv, Ukraine, this week, announcing new support for Ukraine’s effort to repel Russian forces.
Rosatom, the Russian nuclear power company, on February 26 said it has obligations to continue its foreign nuclear projects. The UK’s sanctions include three Rosatom subsidiaries that are part of those foreign power plant builds. The UK government said the subsidiaries were included because they are involved “in trying to secure contracts for new Russian nuclear installations overseas, opening up additional energy revenue streams to make up for plummeting oil revenues.”
Rosatom in a statement said, “Rosatom regards any unilateral restrictions as illegitimate under international law. In the field of peaceful nuclear energy, safety is the overriding priority. Measures of this kind undermine that foundation.”
Officials stressed that Rosatom itself is not part of the UK’s sanctions. The Russian group has the world’s largest number of foreign nuclear power plant projects, with Rosatom saying it is involved in nearly 40 outside of Russia, in addition to three within Russia. Rosatom is known to be building nuclear power stations in China, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. The company has said it is involved with ongoing construction of 90% of the world’s current nuclear power projects; it also is a global leader in development of nuclear fuels.
Officials in Kazakhstan on Thursday said the UK’s sanctions will not impact construction of that country’s first major nuclear power plant project in nearly 30 years. Rosatom in June of last year was chosen to lead an international consortium in construction of the Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant, a 2.4-GW facility located in the village of Ulken in the Almaty region, on the shore of Lake Balkhash. The Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency said the project has no contractual ties to a sanctioned entity. The agency said it will monitor any more moves by the UK or other countries that could involve Rosatom or other companies working on the project.
The Balkhash plant will feature two Generation III+ pressurized water reactors, known as VVER-1200, that will be supplied by Russia. Kazakhstan officials said the country, which produces more than 40% of the world’s uranium, will supply its own fuel for the project.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.