Belarus may build the second nuclear power plant

The Belarusian authorities are evaluating the prospects of building new nuclear power facilities. This was stated by Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadiuk, writes Sputnik.

"Such work is carried out in the country today. Its first stage is a forecast of energy consumption in the country," said the official.

In addition, the new power unit or a new plant must be fitted into the operating mode of the Belarusian energy system. If it is approved for construction of new nuclear facilities, the experts will prepare a technical feasibility study. "To do this, the republic must reach a certain level of consumption," explained the deputy minister.

Mikhail Mikhadiuk reminds that it takes a lot of time from the idea to the construction of a nuclear power plant. The NPP construction in Ostrovets has been planned since 2005. Several ministries and the National Academy of Sciences studied the project feasibility. The final decision was taken in 2008.

BelNPP, which is already in operation, allowed to replace 3.3 billion cubic meters of gas. It helped diversify the energy system and save currency.

"Nuclear power plants produce energy at a lower cost than conventional plants," added the deputy minister of energy. The projected lifetime of the BelNPP is 60 years. It will probably be extended for another 20 years.

The construction of the plant near Ostrovets was started about 10 years ago jointly with the state corporation Rosatom. The first power unit was officially launched on November 7, 2020. Commercial operation began in June 2021. Since the spring of 2022, the unit was under scheduled preventive maintenance. It was reactivated only on November 9 last year after scheduled maintenance and additional testing.

It is still operating at nominal capacity, but it has already generated 11.7 billion kWh of electricity.