Business news

OSTROVETS, 12 October (BelTA) – The loading of nuclear fuel into the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is supposed to begin in summer 2019, BelTA learned from Alexander Kanyuka, Head of the Reactor Department of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, on 12 October.

“We intend to get nuclear fuel loaded in summer 2019. We will begin mastering the systems step by step after that. We will begin with a subcritical state first in order to check the operation of all the systems. Then we will gradually increase the output. When we reach 30%, we will get the steam turbine plant going and will start feeding electricity to the power grid. We will fully commission the first unit in December 2019,” said Alexander Kanyuka.

There are plans to deliver nuclear fuel made by the Russian company TVEL to the Ostrovets site in late 2018 just in line with the plans previously specified by top executives of the nuclear power plant operating company.

Delivering fuel to the nuclear power plant under construction is one of the key stages in implementing the nuclear project. Before the Belarusian nuclear power plant gets fuel, the operator will have to obtain the license to run the power plant from the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor).

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built using the Russian standard Generation III+ design AES-2006 near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.