Belarus begins fuel loading at new Astravets nuclear plant

Belarus began loading fuel into the first of two reactors at its new Russian-built Astravets nuclear power plant on Friday and said it expects to begin using the plant in the fourth quarter. Built by Russian state firm Rosatom and financed by Moscow with a $10 billion loan, the project is opposed by neighbouring Lithuania, whose capital Vilnius is just 50km away.

Belarus began loading fuel into the first of two reactors at its new Russian-built Astravets nuclear power plant on Friday and said it expects to begin using the plant in the fourth quarter.

Built by Russian state firm Rosatom and financed by Moscow with a $10 billion loan, the project is opposed by neighbouring Lithuania, whose capital Vilnius is just 50km away. Vilnius has banned all electricity imports from the plant, citing concerns about safety and national security, and along with Estonia and Latvia is considering slapping a fee on power imports from Russia, as well.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are moving towards a full decoupling from their Soviet-era common power system by 2025. Belarus denies that the plant poses a risk and has insisted it meets all safety requirements.

Its energy ministry said it plans to add the first 1.2 gigawatt VVER 1200 reactor to the country's power system in the fourth quarter of 2020. Construction of the second reactor is scheduled for completion in 2022 and will double the plant's capacity to 2.4 gigawatts.

The ministry said the plant will meet around one third of Belarus' demand for electricity, replacing 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 7 million tonnes annually.

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