Once the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) is commissioned, the share of natural gas in the production of heat and electricity in Belarus will go down to 70%, Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Vadim Zakrevsky said.
“The nuclear power plant is expected to come online as a result of the program for the development of the electric power industry in 2016-2020. Plans have been made to decommission inefficient power production facilities with the capacity of some 400 MW and replace them with new ones. We expect to save approximately 850-1,000 tons of equivalent fuel. We also plan to save 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas with the commissioning of the BelNPP and development of local energy sources. This will enable us to cut the amount of natural gas in the production of heat and electricity from the current level of 90% to 70%,” Vadim Zakrevsky said.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build a VVER-1200 type nuclear power plant 18 km away from Ostrovets, Grodno region. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400 MW (2×1,200 MW). (BelTA/Business World Magazine)