MINSK, 4 September (BelTA) – The consumption of natural gas in the country will not noticeably change after the Belarusian nuclear power plant is commissioned, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Olga Prudnikova on 4 September.
Once the nuclear power plant is commissioned, Belarus will stop importing electricity. “At the same time we don't expect the current volume of natural gas consumption to change much due to the creation of new kinds of enterprises,” noted the official.
The consumption of natural gas will stay unchanged due to the diversification of the fuel and energy budget. The deputy energy minister stressed that it is one of the components of the national energy independence. “The share of the natural gas we import from Russia is virtually 95% in the sphere of generation of heat energy and electricity. This is why a number of decisions have been made. We are going to diversify our fuel and energy budget,” added Olga Prudnikova.
This work in Belarus is pursued in two prongs. The commissioning of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is the first one. “The natural gas we needed in the past to generate electricity will be replaced by the energy the nuclear power plant will generate,” explained the official. In her words, natural gas consumption in electricity generation will drop by some 3.5 billion m3 per annum by 2022 or so.
Yet the government has come up with a number of measures to set up and develop new enterprises, which will use natural gas. A tinned iron factory is being built in Vitebsk Oblast. A Grodno Azot enterprise is being reconstructed. There are other projects, too. Thus, the overall natural gas consumption figures will stay roughly the same.
The second prong is using more local fuels, including peat. It will create jobs and satisfy needs of the nation, in particular, fuel for households. This fuel is also used increasingly by cement mills to replace imported coal.
