Moscow is increasingly relying on Beijing for support of its own nuclear energy. Rosatom for the first time purchased critical equipment for nuclear power plants abroad – two turbogenerator units from the Chinese state corporation "Dongfang Turbine", which are intended for the Leningrad station. As reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, this not only emphasizes the technological degradation of Russian mechanical engineering, but also opens the way to deep dependence on China, reports UNN.
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According to intelligence, the Russian corporation has already approached Chinese manufacturers with a request to transfer slow-speed steam turbine technologies, which are necessary for nuclear power plant reactors.
Deliveries are planned to be completed by 2030, which means a long wait for critically important components. At the same time, the cost of Russian turbines is one third higher than Chinese counterparts, and their own production capacities are not able to ensure the construction schedules of new power units at the Leningrad, Kursk and Smolensk nuclear power plants
In fact, the Russian nuclear industry has lost the ability to independently support key projects. The purchase of equipment and the transfer of technologies in a strategically sensitive area mean not only a failure in development, but also a long-term technological dependence on Beijing, which will include supplies, service and modernization, the intelligence service summarized.