Belarus looking into possibility of second NPP construction

"There are no concrete plans to construct the second NPP in the country. Yet, the issue should be kept on agenda as the price for organic fuel is constantly increasing while its reserves are steadily dwindling," the official said.

In this vein, the ministry is scrutinizing the issue taking into consideration the economic situation the country will have by the moment the first nuclear power plant is constructed as well as prospects and supplies of energy resources to Belarus and their cost.

This topic requires careful consideration, and we are going to do this together with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and other bodies. If after the Chernobyl accident, the NAS of Belarus and the ministry had not resumed studies on possible sites for NPP and other issues in the 1990s we would not have started on the NPP construction project so swiftly, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk. He noted that a preparatory phase usually takes 10-12 years while in Belarus it took 4 years.

According to the deputy minister, construction of over 100 units is currently in progress worldwide. Not many countries gave up on their nuclear programs after the Fukushima accident. "Germany gave up under the pressure of the green. But I think that in a few years there will come a time when they reverse their decision. Many foreign specialists predict this," he believes.

By closing the NPP Lithuania generated a growth of tariffs for the population and for the real sector of the economy. Lithuania is now revisiting the issue of nuclear energy. "Stress tests have been done on all nuclear stations. Some need to be gradually taken out of service. Still we will have to build new nuclear plants using modern technologies. There is no other way out," Mikhail Mikhadyuk noted.