MINSK, 15 June (BelTA) – The technical capability and the economic capability are available for building a new nuclear power plant in Belarus as well as a new unit as part of the existing nuclear power plant. Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz made the relevant statement on the air of the TV channel Belarus One, BelTA has learned.
Asked whether the feasibility study is ready for building a new nuclear power plant in Belarus or a new unit of the existing nuclear power plant outside Ostrovets, Denis Moroz noted that after the Belarusian nuclear power plant was commissioned, the economy, the energy industry, and the population have felt benefits of the nuclear power plant. “As for the population, at present over 130,000 consumers use electricity to get hot running water, heat their homes and they enjoy discounted electricity rates for these purposes,” he said.
“Within the framework of the feasibility study we are considering the construction of a new nuclear power plant at a new location or the construction of another unit of the existing nuclear power plant. Within the framework of the feasibility study we have already made the main calculations and we understand that we have the technical capability and the economic capability for implementing the first option and the second one. At present the development of the feasibility study is nearing completion. A report will be presented at the government level soon and a report will be presented to the head of state after that,” Denis Moroz stated.
He also touched upon the matter of burying the radioactive waste the nuclear power plant generates. According to the energy minister, at premises of the Belarusian nuclear power plant there is a facility for storing radioactive waste till at least 2030. “Now we have a state task to build a radioactive waste burial facility by 2030 to where we will be able to move waste from all over the country and bury it there. The thing is the construction of such a facility is a task of extreme scale and complexity. It has to be as transparent as possible in the eyes of the international community and citizens of the Republic of Belarus. We need to select an optimal location and an optimal solution for building such a facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency has certain regulatory documents, according to which we now proceed. As part of the work we focus on examining the possibility of placing the radioactive waste burial facility in the territory of Grodno Oblast, Mogilev Oblast, and Gomel Oblast,” Denis Moroz said.
The energy minister went on saying that after geological studies are completed and the fauna is researched in the areas where the facility is supposed to be built, locations are chosen and pre-design documentation is developed. After that the environmental impact will be researched and the consequent public hearings will be held. Denis Moroz stressed that this procedure will be transparent to the international community, too.
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