Second Power Unit Of Belarusian NPP To Go Online In 2022 - Minsk

The second power unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP) is expected to come online in 2022 as commissioning operations are proceeding according to the schedule, Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th May, 2022) The second power unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP) is expected to come online in 2022 as commissioning operations are proceeding according to the schedule, Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said Wednesday.

"The commissioning activities are underway. All the work is done according to special programs. We are working on the tests as stipulated by the programs, the work is proceeding as planned. The unit is expected to be put into operation this year," Mikhadyuk said while visiting the NPP, as quoted by the Belarusian Energy Ministry on Telegram.

The Belarusian NPP is the largest joint economic enterprise of Russia and Belarus.

The plant will feature two power units equipped with Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts. The plant is being built in the Belarusian city of Astravyets in the north-western region of Grodno, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The first power unit was put into service on June 10, 2021.

The ministry said in February that the second unit was 96% ready. Fresh nuclear fuel was loaded into the reactor core of the unit in December 2021 to begin test trials of the physical start-up of the unit.