Feasibility study for building new nuclear power facility in Belarus to be ready in 2025 - Energy Ministry

MINSK. Nov 21 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Energy Ministry is developing a feasibility study for the construction of a third power unit at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) or a second nuclear power plant in the country, and the work will be completed in 2025, Deputy Energy Minister Denis Moroz said.

"We are currently studying the prospects. We are seeing significant growth in electricity consumption. If together with scientists we conclude that these trends are sustained, then of course, the feasibility study will show how effective it would be to either build a new power unit at the existing nuclear facility or create another plant at a new site," Moroz said. His comments were shown in a video released by the Energy Ministry's press service.

"The development of nuclear energy in Belarus is currently on the agenda. The country's president constantly discusses this issue, which requires systematic analysis and a final decision," he said.

"The Energy Ministry has been tasked by the government with developing the feasibility study. According to the instructions, it must be prepared in 2025, and we expect a final decision to be made during this period," he said.

The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant in Ostrovets, in the Grodno region, was built according to the Russian VVER-1200 project. The plant consists of two power units each with a capacity of 1.2 GW. The general contractor for the construction was Rosatom's ASE Group. A Russian state loan of $10 billion was used to finance the project.

The first power unit of the BelNPP was connected to the network in November 2020 with commercial launch in June 2021. The second was connected in May 2023 and entered commercial operation in November.

The BelNPP has generated 37.5 billion kWh of electricity since the first unit was integrated into the unified power system on November 3, 2020, replacing more than 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly called for developing new nuclear power capacities in Belarus, and said that building a second NPP in the country will not lead to an excess of electricity. "We are considering the construction of a second nuclear power plant. You can never have too much electricity. There will never be an excess of it in the country," Lukashenko said in July.

The financing for developing new capacities could come from savings made in the construction of the BelNPP, he said.