A good tip to melt the arctic
October 13th, 2010One hundred and thirty meters long, thirty wide, the Russians are in the final phase of the construction of the first floating nuclear power plant, capable of producing electricity for 45 000 homes. Good.
It is the first unit of eight others planified.
September the 15th 2007, the European Space Agency announces for the first time that the road is wide open. the ice has melted sufficiently to think seriously about a commercial transit in the edges of the arctic. Tokyo is now only 14 100 km from Rotterdam instead of 21 000km via the Suez Canal. China has never been that close to the European market.
Specially designed boats went on exploring the brand new road for the past years. But since 2010, the journey is done by new types of ship. This summer, the biggest ever seen was the super tanker SCF-Baltica of 115 000 TPL, escorted by two ice-breakers (the Rossiya and the 50-Let-Pobedy). Shortly followed by the Nordic-Barents of 183 m long and 43 700 TPL.
The Russian container carrier Monchegork and the ferry Georg-Ots made the journey as well. But nothing unusual there as the Monchegorsk owned by the Norilsk Nickel Corp. can travel amid 1,5m thick ice.
As we see this road is still uncertain. Although the ice is melting at a good and steady pace, not anybody is ready to put his boat at risk yet.
So how is it possible to secure the seasonal spread of ice?
What a better solution than to install 8 flating nuclear power stations along the road with the excuse of producing electricity and hot water to the abandoned arctic populations? The nuclear power being cooled by the ice.
Alexander Soljenitsyn, if the goulags still existed they could be heated.
And on the financial front, what’s new? We are starting carbon credits.