Russia plans construction of 38 new nuclear reactors

Russia, one of the largest users of nuclear energy, wants to significantly increase its capacity.

President Vladimir Putin has set a target to increase the share of nuclear power in total production from the current level of just under 20% to 25% over the next two decades.

The plan was announced on Monday by Alexei Likhachev, head of the nuclear energy company Rosatom, at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna.

Likhachev said the plan is to build a further 38 large, medium and small reactor units, Russian state news agency TASS reported. This would roughly double the number of reactor units currently in operation in Russia.

IAEA data shows five additional large units are already under construction in Russia. In addition, Russia has built its first floating nuclear power plant, which has been supplying the northern Siberian city of Pevek since 2022.

In Ukraine, Russian troops have been occupying the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant since 2022, which, with seven reactors, is the largest nuclear facility in Europe.