Business news

MINSK, 20 March (BelTA) – The electricity the Belarusian nuclear power plant will generate will be fully consumed by the domestic market, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Vadim Zakrevsky.

The official noted that Belarus does not have sufficient fuel and energy resources of its own. It is necessary to develop nuclear energy industry primarily to reduce the cost of electricity generation and to diversify the fuels used to generate electricity.

When the decision to build the nuclear power plant near Ostrovets was made, electricity export was not the main goal. “Electricity generated by the Belarusian nuclear power plant is intended for domestic consumption. It will be fully used inside the country. The nuclear power plant in Ostrovets is being built in order to bolster energy security and improve the overall competitive ability of our economy,” noted Vadim Zakrevsky.

In the course of implementation of government programs on developing the Belarusian power grid concerted efforts were exercised to modernize the existing power-generating facilities and build new ones using contemporary energy-effective technologies. Renewable energy industry is actively developing, including locally available energy resources. An energy saving program is in progress. Taking into account the potential of the Belarusian power grid Belarus may sell electricity to neighboring countries in the future.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built using the AES-2006 nuclear power plant design that features VVER-1200 type reactors. The construction site is located 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The first unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.