Belarus is set to import less electricity after Astravets NPP’s start, Energy Minister Uladzimir Patupchyk said at the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum on Wednesday.
At the same time, importing electricity is expected to be economically viable, the minister stressed.
“Once the Belarusian nuclear power plant goes online, we will import electricity only if it is economically justified. The development of nuclear energy industry will give a new intellectual and technological impulse to the country’s development. It will also provide additional guarantees for stronger state independence and economic self-dependence,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Patupchyk.
According to the top official, Belarus will be able to substitute 5 billion m3 of imported natural gas in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10 million tonnes per annum.
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Lithuania has repeatedly criticized the construction of the nuclear power plant 50 kilometers from Vilnius and encouraged the rest of the countries of the United Europe to not buy electricity from the future NPP.
Our neighbour is not only concerned about the proximity of the station to Vilnius, but also with a number of emergencies during the NPP construction. Among the emergencies are a reactor vessel incident, when it fell during the transportation, the collapse of the concrete structure at the site between the reactors. Our channel was the first to report on the incident. Before the official request of the Lithuanian side, representatives of the Belarusian NPP denied this information.
