Russia’s nuclear power program is making aggressive moves, taking big financial risks to become the world’s leading nuclear powerplant builder. In recent months, the state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom says it has doubled its orders for new plants since the disaster in Fukushima. It is lending Hungary EU 10 billion to construct a new reactor at an existing Hungarian facility in Paks. Local reports say the finance ministry aims to use Russia’s welfare fund to take a 34% ownership stake in a project Rosatom was awarded in Finland.
In the closing of its recent 2400 MW deal with Hungary, Rosatom edged out France’s Areva and the U.S. nuclear specialist Westinghouse partly because of the Russians' vertically integrated-project-delivery method that allows it to provide engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) services along with fuel supply, waste disposal and financing—which combined account for 80% of the Hungary project’s cost. ENR sources say a lull in nuclear building activity in the United States has led to the atrophy of certain construction skills required to build nuclear power plants. The U.S., no longer able to guarantee nuclear concrete code compliance and fabrication of heavy steel components, is at a disadvatage competing gobally for new nuclear construction, observers say.