Share of natural gas in Belarus' energy mix to decrease to 60% with launch of NPP

With the launch of the nuclear power plant, the share of natural gas in Belarus' energy mix will decrease to 60%, Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich said during a panel discussion at the Eurasian Economic Forum via a video link, BelTA has learned. The minister spoke about the main areas of improving the country's energy security, the measures taken to diversify the fuel and energy mix. Construction of the nuclear power plant is a key project for Belarus. Belarus became the first foreign site where the Rosatom state corporation built a nuclear power plant with third-generation pressurized water reactors of increased safety. The first unit was put into commercial operation in 2021. The second unit is to go online this year. The advantages of using a peaceful atom are already tangible and give an economic effect. From the moment the first unit of the Belarusian NPP was connected to the grid (3 November 2020) until the scheduled maintenance (25 April 2022), the NPP generated 9.3 billion kWh of electricity, which made it possible to replace about 2.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas. With the commissioning of the second unit, the Belarusian NPP will increase the electricity production to 18.5 billion kWh per year. The plant will annually replace about 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million tonnes per year. "With the launch of the Belarusian NPP, the share of natural gas in Belarus' energy mix will decrease to 60%," the minister said. Another area of diversifying the energy mix was the development of renewable energy. Their installed capacity has increased 5 times over the past six years: from 120 to 600MW, electricity generation - from 270 to 1,260 million kWh.