The Russian atomic energy industry will become self-supporting and build new units with its own funds by 2015, First Vice-Premier Sergei Ivanov said here on Friday.

The government will allocate 674 billion rubles (26 billion U.S. dollars) from the federal budget for the industry before 2015, which will make it self-supporting, Ivanov was quoted by the Itar- Tass news agency as saying.

Federal Atomic Energy Agency Director Sergei Kiriyenko said the industry will be receiving federal budgetary financing until 2015. "The financing will reach its peak in 2010," he said.

Later on the industry will start building new units unaided, Kiriyenko said.

"Nuclear power plants are the most expensive energy facilities, but they are very efficient," he said. The cost of uranium fuel amounts to only 5 percent in the overall cost of a new nuclear power plant, while the rest is machinery and technologies.

"Within the service life of a nuclear power plant (60 years), its electricity appears to be much cheaper than that of gas and coal. Nuclear power plants can even compete with hydropower plants, as the latter cannot be built in certain places," Kiriyenko said.

"Nuclear power plants will make a contribution to stable electricity charges," he added.

Source: Xinhua