BelNPP at the finish line: how are things at the station and what awaits nuclear energy tomorrow

The decision to build BelNPP was made back in 2008. Since then, Belarus has come a long and difficult path of developing its own nuclear power industry. Much has been done, but much work remains to be done. Of course, the construction of such a nuclear facility cannot but arouse much interest and questions from the public. BelTA journalists have collected answers to some of them..

How successful was the project and what difficulties did you encounter?

Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko drew attention to the fact that today many countries are declaring their intention to build nuclear power plants. "Do you remember what cries were at the stage when we were preparing to make a decision on the construction of a nuclear power plant. Especially from the West. Now we see how well-considered and thoughtful the decision was" he said ironically.

Alexei Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, supported these conclusions. "Interruptions in the supply of energy resources, price volatilities, the environmental aspect - all this is returning the world to nuclear energy. And someone takes old dusty projects out of the closet and tries to apply them in today's conditions, and someone replicates modern technologies. If we now look at the BelNPP as a nuclear facility, then I responsibly declare to you that in terms of safety, efficiency of capital investments, and training of personnel, there is nothing like it in Europe. This is the most advanced plant," he stressed.

The head of the Belarusian government said that the BelNPP for the country is the most important project of the decade. "We are actually at the finish line. We discussed the schedule of the remaining activities to put the second power unit into commercial operation," he noted. Also, on May 19, a solemn event was held at the plant to increase the power of the reactor plant of the second power unit.

Alexey Likhachev, in turn, emphasized that the project is being successfully implemented despite difficult external factors. “Life tested us here for a break: a pandemic, the destruction of logistics. This began even before 2022. Well, a full set of both written and unwritten sanctions. What is our joint strength with our Belarusian colleagues? It is that from the point of view of nuclear, construction technologies, we are absolutely independent of imports. Yes, of course, something in terms of microelectronics, electrical products had to be replaced, but this had practically no effect on the implementation of the Belarusian project," he said.

BelNPP is very important in terms of diversifying energy sources. "We are not giving up on natural gas, but the full commissioning of the second power unit and the output of both units to the nominal capacity will allow us to save money," said Roman Golovchenko. With the commissioning of the second power unit, the BelNPP will annually produce about 18.5 billion kWh of electricity. This will provide about 40% of the country's domestic needs and will make it possible to replace about 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Measures were taken in advance to stimulate electricity consumption in the country. These include incentive tariffs, the development of energy-intensive industries, the modernization of the power grid infrastructure, further work on the electrification of the housing stock for heating and hot water supply, and the development of electric transport.

How does the first power unit work and will there be repairs again?

Since the inclusion of the first power unit in the unified power system (November 3, 2020), more than 14.6 billion kWh of electricity have been generated, which made it possible to replace 3.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The BelNPP provides for scheduled preventive maintenance. Once a year, it is necessary to shut down the power unit for partial fuel refueling and perform scheduled routine maintenance. As experts emphasize, this is a regular operation that is performed at any nuclear power plant in the world, without which its reliable and safe operation is impossible.

Last year, the first scheduled preventive maintenance for the BelNPP was carried out. The second is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.

 "The next reloading of part of the nuclear fuel will be provided. It has already been delivered to the BelNPP site and passed the input control. It is also planned to diagnose technological systems, control the metal of the equipment of the reactor and turbine shops, and other events. Traditionally, both Belarusian and Russian specialists will take part in the repair ", - Minister of Energy Viktor Karankevich informed.

When will the second power unit be put into operation and will there be disconnections from the network?

On May 13, 2023, the second power unit of the BelNPP was connected to  the unified power system of the country at a reactor unit capacity of 40%. Over the past few days, it has already generated more than 45 million kWh of electricity, supplied to Belarusian consumers. On May 19, the power of the reactor unit of the second power unit of the BelNPP was increased to 50%. The ceremony dedicated to this event was held at the BelNPP with the participation of Roman Golovchenko and Alexei Likhachev.

In fact, this has made another serious step towards putting the second power unit into operation. "In the near future, the BelNPP will operate at full capacity with two modern generation 3+ pressurized water reactors that meet the highest safety requirements. This will significantly strengthen the energy security of Belarus. It is also a serious contribution to the common cause of improving the situation with climate change. The country will receive a source of affordable and environmentally friendly electrical energy for decades to come," Viktor Karankevich outlined the prospects.

Serious work remains to be done before the power unit is put into operation. “This includes the operation at the level of 50% of installed power as part of a power start-up; from 50% to 100% as part of pilot operation. Importantly, a wide range of tests will be carried out at all these stages in various operating modes of the reactor unit, turbinoalternator, including the disconnection of the second power unit from the grid both at the stage of power start-up and at the stage of pilot operation. This is a world practice. Disconnections from the grid are also provided for by the activities of milestone programs," the minister stressed.

The most important thing is to make sure that equipment and technological systems, including safety systems, work reliably, in accordance with design parameters and indicators.

"The launch of the second power unit to 100% capacity, a comprehensive testing of the unit at rated power for 15 days, readiness for preliminary acceptance of the power unit is planned for 2023," Viktor Karankevich said.

Decommissioning of BelNPP

Someone will say: why talk about this when the second power unit has not yet been put into operation. But in such important matters it is worth thinking ahead. "World practice is such that the concept of NPP decommissioning begins to be prepared even at the stage of the plant's operation. This concept takes into account a large list of organizational and technical measures. Our country keeps these issues under special control," Viktor Karankevich said.

In the near future, it is planned to begin work on the preparation of the concept with the involvement of all interested government agencies. Experts of the state corporation "Rosatom" were also invited to join this work. "In order to formalize specific interaction algorithms, we plan to ensure the preparation of an appropriate agreement. On this issue, we are only at the beginning of the path," the minister added.

The third power unit or the second nuclear power plant?

While the completion of work at the second power unit is approaching, the public is increasingly interested whether the development of nuclear energy in the country will continue through the creation of new capacities. Experts have already voiced possible options - a third power unit or a second nuclear power plant. But the final decision has not yet been made.

The commissioning of two BelNPP power units will provide about 40% of the electricity demand in the country. At the current stage, this is enough for now. In the medium term, the growing demand for electricity of both the real sector of the economy and the population will be satisfied. "But we are already looking further. These are 2030, 2035, 2040, 2050, this is a long-term perspective. We are making appropriate calculations," Viktor Karankevich said.

As the minister stressed, it is important to ensure a balance between supply and demand, that is, the production and consumption of electrical energy. According to the materials that have already been prepared, there are good prospects for increasing electricity consumption in the country.

"While working on this issue, we are analyzing the need to provide generation facilities, considering the construction of either a third power unit or a second nuclear power plant. Organizational, technical, environmental aspects are being worked out. Specialists and representatives of various government bodies have been involved - the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Economy, the Energy Efficiency Department of the State Standard, as well as National Academy of Sciences. All this, of course, takes place with the participation of the Ministry of Energy. Joint work continues," the head of the Ministry of Energy said.

 Will there be deliveries to the Russian market?

During his visit to Belarus in March this year, Pavel Zavalny, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the State Duma of Russia, noted that from 2024 it will be possible to supply electricity from the BelNPP to the Russian market. The opening opportunities are related to the upcoming commissioning of the second power unit of the plant and the integration of the electricity markets of the two countries.

The journalists did not fail to ask the Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov about the prospects. “Within the framework of the sectoral programs of the Union State, we have common programs related to the gas, oil and electricity markets. Since we have a common electricity market program, then, naturally, the use of energy generated in Belarus for the purposes that are needed in the Russian Federation," said Boris Gryzlov.

The Ambassador also noted that the Union State is moving towards the development of the peaceful atom. And the creation in Belarus of a large nuclear center - the Belarusian NPP - only confirms this.

Plans for cooperation with Rosatom

The Prime Minister of Belarus is confident that with the commissioning of the second power unit of the BelNPP, joint work with the Russian side will not end. “Rosatom is working to modernize and improve the parameters of the reactors of the current type. There are other developments that are of interest to the Belarusian side. I think there is a long and eventful road ahead,” he said.

The Director General of Rosatom is also determined to further develop cooperation. “We promised the government and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko that we would build as we would. During the operation phase, we will also treat the BelNPP as our own, that is, we will include in all our personnel training programs, further improvement of security systems, in the huge work that we are doing on fuel," said Alexei Likhachev.

Rosatom also has a backlog in nuclear non-energy and non-nuclear technologies. “Within the framework of the Union State, we must ensure technological sovereignty together with our Belarusian partners. We are talking about projects related to composites, 3D printing, energy storage devices. In addition, we have found very high competencies in working with digital companies in Belarus, and now there is several alliances in the field of acquiring digital sovereignty. We do not forget about the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus: quanta, photonics - all this is tomorrow, including for microelectronics," the head of the state corporation said.

In his opinion, nuclear medicine should become a subject of special attention. “The first contracts have been signed. While we are on the path of supplying radiopharmaceuticals, there are isotopes that can be produced, including by the Belarusian nuclear power plant. They turn into radiopharmaceuticals that are needed by a specific person with a specific diagnosis. beds, nuclear medicine buildings," Aleksey Likhachev drew attention. According to him, the Russian Federation is now engaged in full import substitution in this area and is interested in involving Belarus in this work.

Valeria GAVRILOVA,

photo by Ramil NASIBULINA