$40 Billion boost for nuclear power in Russia

Russia will invest $40 Billion into the country's nuclear power sector over the next 7 years, Prime Minister Putin says. After that he expects the industry will become self-financing.

Every 6th nuclear reactor in the world runs on Russian nuclear fuel – uranium stored in rods.

Prime minister Vladimir Putin says Russia's budget, boosted by high oil revenues, has enough cash to finance expansion of the country's nuclear power sector.

A terrific amount of money – more than 40 billion dollars – is to be allocated from the state budget for development of the nuclear energy sector and the nuclear industry by 2015. We’ll have to build 26 major generating units in Russia in the next 12 years – about as many as were built in the entire Soviet period.

Russia has some of the richest uranium deposits in the world, but generates only 16% of its electricity using nuclear power. That's half the level generated in many developed counties. Fuel rods containing uranium will produce one third of russia's electricity by 2030 according to the government's plans.

It also hopes Russia's fuel producer, TVEL, can gain up 30 % of the global nuclear fuel market. Dmitry Baranov, industry analyst from Finam Management, says the changing perception of nuclear fuel is creating market opportunities.

More and more countries in the world understand that nuclear energy is more efficient and no more dangerous than others. Yes, we had Chernobyl, but at the same time we have vast experience in nuclear power generating. We just need to sell quality  products at competitive prices, without dumping.

Russia's nuclear state corporation Rosatom says private capital is welcome in uranium mining and power machinery production. Foreign investors have also been granted permission to tender for construction of a nuclear power station near Kaliningrad.