The roundtable “Prospects for the development of nuclear energy: safety, environmental, economic and sustainable development aspects” was held within the framework of the 23rd Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum, organized by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus.
Nuclear energy’s significance for the global energy balance and securing of a green and sustainable electricity supply for the growing social demand were at the top of the round table agenda this year.
According to Deputy Director of Rosatom Eastern Europe Vladimir Gorn, 454 nuclear reactors are currently operated in 30 countries around the world. In its turn, WNA expects an increase in the total nuclear generating capacity up to 25% by 2050. Meanwhile, the carbon dioxide emissions will not grow by a single gram, given that nuclear generation is a carbon-free energy source. An own nuclear power plant will allow Belarus to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by 7-10 mln tons every year.
Representatives of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) member states attended this year’s round table. Delegates from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are only embarking upon national nuclear power programs, highlighted the progress achieved by Belarus on this track and proved the expertise of Belarusian specialists being of a great value for nuclear newcomer countries.
“Many countries that realize the prospects of nuclear generation are now starting to develop this industry. Belarus is ready to share its experience gained in the implementation of the nuclear power project. The round table held at the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum allows us to exchange advanced experience and competences in the field of nuclear generation with other countries”, noted Lilia Dulinets, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Energy Department at the Belarusian Energy Ministry, who was moderating the round table.
“The Belarusian NPP is constructed under the Russian design generation III+, which corresponds to all existing safety standards. International experts have acknowledged reliability and safety of this project. Rosatom’s portfolio of foreign construction projects now includes 36 units in 12 countries at different level of implementation. Two units that use the same design as in Belarus have already been commissioned and are used in power generation – at Novovoronezh NPP and Leningrad NPP-2. On top of this, the National stress tests report was positively received by international experts. All this supports the statement that Belarus will get a reliable power plant that will supply the country with environmentally friendly electricity at reasonable prices”, said Viktor Brich, Deputy Director for General Matters at the JSC ASE EC Office in Belarus, which is the general contractor of the NPP construction.
Commissioning of Unit 1 of Belarus NPP is scheduled for the end of 2019, of Unit 2 – for 2020.
The Belarusian NPP is the largest Russia-Belarus joint project in the field of nuclear power. NPP construction is carried out in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus on the terms of total responsibility of the General Contractor (“on a turn-key basis”). The Russian-designed project of the new Generation III+, which complies with all modern requirements, international norms and IAEA recommendations, provides for construction of a two-unit NPP with VVER-1200 reactors having a total capacity up to 2400 MWe. The general construction contractor is the Engineering division of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.