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Energy has been a bit of a problem for those in both ends of the Earth’s poles for decades, with researchers and military bases getting their power from a variety of sources. For Russia, solving the problem means sending a barge that basically acts like a nuclear power plant to the Arctic. The move has proven controversial, to say the least, with many calling the tub the “Floating Chernobyl” or “Nuclear Titanic.”
The barge/power plant is called “Akademik Lomonosov” and it was towed out of a shipyard in St. Petersburg on Saturday where it was constructed. The boat is technically owned by Rosatom, which itself is an energy firm that is controlled by the state, the Independent reports.
The Lomonosov will be floating through the Baltic Sea before arriving at the Murmansk base where it will be loaded with enough nuclear material to fuel anything it needs to once it arrives at the Arctic port of Pevek. This is expected to occur sometime in the summer of 2019.
As expected, environmentalist groups are not exactly thrilled with the prospect of a nuclear power plant being sent to the Arctic, where it can do a lot of damage if something went wrong. Greenpeace is particularly incensed at the idea with one of the group’s nuclear experts, Jan Haverkamp saying that it’s a huge environmental risk.
"Nuclear reactors bobbing around the Arctic Ocean will pose a shockingly obvious threat to a fragile environment which is already under enormous pressure from climate change,” Haverkamp says. "This hazardous venture is not just a threat to the Arctic, but, potentially, to other densely populated or vulnerable natural regions too."
Of course, Russia has a vested interest in making sure that everything goes right with the barge, Futurism notes. An accident could mean the loss of an expensive investment and international condemnation as if it didn’t have enough of that to deal with already. Even so, no one is reassured by Rosatom’s and by extension Russia’s promises that the barge is harmless to the environment.
