By Alexei Rodionov: During a visit to the Belarusian nuclear plant in Ostrovets, a CIS working group discussed construction sites for a NPP in Kazakhstan and a possibility of involving Belarusian specialists in the construction process in the near future.
Meanwhile, major construction works have begun at the second power unit of the Ostrovets NPP. The next step, experts say, will be the installation of reactor safety systems.
Much paperwork is being done outside the construction site, such as equipment supply contracts. Besides, there have been concrete proposals on electricity export - already after the launch of the first unit in 2018, the Belarusian NPP is likely to also cover Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Another important area is an innovative training center with a full-scale NPP simulator, which will allow preparing tens of thousands of specialists.
Tasks for 2015 for the energy sector as a whole were defined at today’s meeting of the Energy Ministry in Minsk. Over 100 experts discussed the modernisation of power systems and ways of making them more efficient. According to Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik, starting this year, it is planned to save 250 million dollars annually. The money will go to reducing cross-subsidization levels and tariffs for the real economy sector.
Five thermal power plants will be built and modernised in the country this year, with a new modern thermal power plant to be constructed in Luninets. A total of about 18 trillion rubles is planned to be allocated from the budget to modernise Belarus’ power systems.
