Business news

MINSK, 30 May (BelTA) – A Russian company will stress test the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk on the sidelines of the international forum Atomexpo in Moscow on 30 May.

“Stress tests will be carried out by a Russian company. We have already signed the contract with it. The specifications for the stress tests have been compiled taking into account requirements of the European Union,” said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

The Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister did not disclose the name of the company, citing reasons of commercial confidentiality. However, he underlined that the company has stress tested many Russian nuclear power plants. It was reported earlier that several foreign companies had been considered for stress testing the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The series of stress tests is supposed to be arranged by the end of the year. The resilience of the Belarusian nuclear power plant against earthquakes, floods, and extreme weather conditions will be tested.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.