Bilibino — Russia

Bilibino is a 36 MW nuclear power plant in Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia. It is operated by JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom". Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 81k homes (estimated). It ranks #485 of 678 Russia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1974, it is around 52 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 18.3% of Russia's electricity; the national grid averages 450 gCO₂/kWh (35.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1003671.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 36 MW for Bilibino nuclear power plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500258; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 36 MW, Bilibino is below the median nuclear plant in Russia (2,364 MW). Technically it is described as light water graphite reactor. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Russia nuclear capacity

less than 0.1% of 60,908 MW across 28 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

5 of 21 dated nuclear plants in Russia are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest nuclear plants in Russia

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom".

Climate zone & how it works

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a polar tundra climate (Köppen ET) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 68.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby plants

The #27 largest nuclear power plant of 28 in Russia by capacity.

Russia has 28 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 60,908 MW of capacity.

Location

Coordinates 68.0503, 166.5389 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions