The overall readiness of unit 2 of the Belarusian NPP is more than 97% complete, Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Petr Parkhomchik on 28 November told a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. He said commissioning work is underway on the main and auxiliary equipment. "The planned commissioning is the first quarter of next year," he noted.
He said the NPP was a key energy project for Belarus. “Since its inclusion in the unified energy system in November 2020, the first power unit of the station has generated more than 9.5 GWh of electricity, which has made it possible to replace about 2.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas," he said.
"Since April 2022, the first power unit has been under scheduled preventive maintenance and on November 9 it was connected to the grid after the completion of scheduled maintenance work and additional tests. After the completion of the repair, about 200 million kWh of electricity was generated. The first unit operates at design capacity," he added.
The Belarus NPP comprises two Russian supplied VVER-1200 power units. The plant was issued a permit for pilot industrial operation of unit 1 in December 2020 and was connected to the grid in March 2021 and began commercial operation in June. It was the first VVER-1200 unit to begin operation outside of Russia. Fuel loading was completed at unit 2 in December 2021.
Image: The Belarusian nuclear power plant (courtesy of BelTA news agency)
