Capacity of BelNPP's second power unit increased to 50%

The capacity of the reactor unit of the second power unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) has been increased to 50%. The ceremony marking the event took place at BelNPP with the participation of Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko and Director General of the Rosatom state corporation Alexey Likhachev on 19 May, BelTA has learned.

This marked a significant progress in the program to put the power unit into operation.

The prime minister visited the unit control room of the plant's second unit, where he was briefed on the progress made in the development of the reactor unit's capacity. In the presence of the head of government, the reactor's power level was increased from 40% to 50%.

The second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was connected to the country's power grid on 13 May 2023. During its operation it produced more than 45 million kWh of electricity. Ahead is the stage of pilot operation of the unit: specialists will continue gradually raising the unit's output up to 100%.

With the commissioning of the second power unit, BelNPP will annually produce about 18.5 billion kWh of electricity. This will provide about 40% of the country's domestic needs and will allow replacing about 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The nuclear power plant is not only a guarantor of Belarus' energy security, but also a contribution to the common cause of mitigating climate change. Thanks to BelNPP, carbon dioxide emissions in the country will be reduced by about 7 million tonnes annually.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant uses the Russian design AES-2006 featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. It is an evolutionary nuclear power plant design with third-generation water-moderated reactors. Such designs boast improved technical and economic parameters. A combination of active and passive safeguards is their key feature.