Kirill Bychkov presents Arctic energy plans at Russian Energy Week

Kirill Bychkov, Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), presented plans to modernise energy infrastructure in the republic's Arctic districts at Russian Energy Week in Moscow. In his speech, he discussed hybrid generation, the renewal of diesel power plants and prospects for introducing small nuclear energy.

Bychkov said that many remote settlements rely on diesel power plants that have been operating for decades and are heavily worn, and that fuel delivery over long distances makes electricity tariffs several times higher than the Russian average. He added that proposals reflected in the forum's resolutions will be recommended to federal agencies and presented to President Vladimir Putin.

In the past five years, 15 energy facilities with a combined capacity of more than 30 MW have been commissioned in the republic. The programme to modernise 73 diesel power plants is under way, with work ongoing at 59 sites and investment exceeding 16 billion rubles. A 110 MW small nuclear power plant at Kyuchyus is planned to come online in 2031.