Business news

MINSK, 11 October (BelTA) – Integrating the Belarusian nuclear power plant into the national power grid will cost about $700 million, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik during the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum on 11 October.

The official said that diversifying electricity sources is one of the main goals for building and commissioning a nuclear power plant in Belarus. “At present Belarusian power plants consume about 11 billion m3 of natural gas. The nuclear power plant will substitute 5 billion m3. The project will allow ensuring the country’s energy security,” Vladimir Potupchik is convinced.

Before building a nuclear power plant of its own Belarus looked through proposals of all the world’s leading nuclear energy technology solution providers and chose the latest-generation Russian design. “The design allows avoiding all the risks that may emerge in the course of running a nuclear power plant. On the whole, the nuclear power plant allows generating electricity at a low cost in addition to ensuring the competitive ability of the Belarusian economy,” noted Vladimir Potupchik.

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.