Ensuring energy security is one of the key tasks of any modern state. Today, one of the most advanced options for generating electricity is the use of nuclear reactors. In this regard, a nuclear power plant is being built in Belarus. We will talk about this industrial facility in an article.
basic information
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built in the Grodno region of the country literally 50 kilometers from the capital of neighboring Lithuania - Vilnius. Construction began in 2011, and should be completed according to plan in 2019. The design capacity of the unit is 2400 MW.
The Ostrovets site - the place where the station is being built - is supervised by Russian specialists from the Atomstroyexport company.
A few words about design
A nuclear power plant in Belarus will cost the state budget 11 billion US dollars.
The very question of installing an object in the country arose in the 1990s, but the final decision on the start of construction was made only in 2006. The city of Ostrovets was chosen as the main place for the station.
Policy Impact
Analyzing the pros and cons of nuclear energy, several foreign powers were ready to start building nuclear power plants immediately: China, the Czech Republic, the USA, France, and Russia. However, in the end, the Russian Federation became the main contractor. Although initially it was believed that this construction would be unprofitable for the Russian Federation, which planned to put into operation its own nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad region. But nevertheless, in October 2011, a contract was signed between the Russians and Belarusians for the supply of equipment to the Belarusian city of Ostrovets.
Legislative aspect
A nuclear power plant in Belarus is being built in accordance with the law governing radiation safety indicators for the country's population. This act prescribes the conditions that are mandatory for their provision, which will allow people to preserve life and health in the conditions of operation of nuclear power plants.
Cash loan
From the very beginning of the development of the project, its final cost varied, since various types of reactors were considered. Initially, it was required $ 9 billion, 6 of which were to go to the construction itself, and 3 to create all the necessary infrastructure: power lines, residential buildings for workers at the station, railways and more.
It immediately became clear that Belarus simply did not have the entire necessary amount. And therefore, the country's leadership planned to take a loan from Russia, moreover, in the form of "living" money. At the same time, Belarusians immediately said that if they did not receive money, then the construction would be in jeopardy. In turn, the Russian authorities voiced their fears that their neighbors would be unable to repay the debt or use the funds received to support the economy of their country.
In this regard, Russian officials made a proposal to make the nuclear power plant in Belarus a joint venture, but the Belarusian side refused.
The point in this dispute was set on March 15, 2015, when Putin visited Minsk and provided Belarus with 10 billion for the construction of the station. The estimated payback period of the project is about 20 years.
Construction process
Excavation at the facility began in 2011. Two years later, Lukashenko signed a decree giving the right to the Russian general contractor to begin construction of such a huge industrial facility as a nuclear power plant in Belarus.
At the end of May 2014, the foundation pit was completely ready, and work began on filling the foundation of the building of the second energy block. In December 2015, a hull for the first reactor was delivered to the station.
Emergency situations
In May 2016, the media leaked information that a metal structure allegedly collapsed at the construction site of the nuclear power plant. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry, in turn, conveyed an official response to the Lithuanians that no contingencies at the construction site had occurred.
But by October 2016, the number of official accidents during the construction of the station reached ten, three of which were fatal.
Scandal
According to one of the civic activists of Belarus, according to him, on July 10, 2015, during the rehearsal of the installation of the reactor vessel, it fell to the ground. It was planned that the next day the installation was to take place in the presence of journalists and television.
On July 26, the country's Ministry of Energy confirmed the state of emergency, indicating that the incident occurred at the storage site of the building during its sling for subsequent movement in the horizontal direction. This contingency caused an instant and extremely sharp reaction from Lithuania. On July 28, the Minister of Energy of this Baltic country submitted a note to the Belarusian ambassador with a request to clarify all the details of the incident and notify them.
On August 1, installation work to install the hull was suspended, and then the chief designer of this unit said that the theoretical calculations showed that the reactor did not receive serious damage from the fall. The head of Rosatom was of the same opinion, pointing to the lack of grounds for prohibiting the operation of the corps.
However, a completely different opinion was shared by nuclear physicists and other technical specialists. They all spoke with one voice: it is impossible to use the fallen corps in the future. This was due to the fact that, given the weight of the product, the welds and coating could receive critical damage. All these defects could subsequently appear due to the continuous action of the neutron flux and lead to the final destruction of the entire structure. In addition, engineers noted the lack of full-fledged experience in the production of such cases at a manufacturer located in Volgodonsk, which had not produced such units for more than thirty years.
As a result, on August 11, the Minister of Energy of Belarus announced that the reactor would be replaced. As a result, the deadlines for completion of installation operations will be shifted indefinitely. As a solution to the problem, Rosatom made a proposal to use the reactor vessel of the second unit.
Protests
Numerous popular protests against the construction of a nuclear power plant were repeatedly held in the republic itself. Also, a negative attitude towards the construction of the station was expressed by senior officials in Lithuania and Austria. Both of these states noted that the project was not ready for implementation for a number of reasons.
Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy
Considering the pros and cons of nuclear energy, it is worth noting that due to the specifics of the course of nuclear reactions, the cost of fuel consumed is quite small. This is the main positive aspect of this type of electricity production. Also, oddly enough it sounds, but a peaceful atom is environmentally friendly. Even thermal power plants make more harmful emissions into the atmosphere than nuclear power plants.
Among the negative aspects of nuclear reactors, one can note the problematic nature of the waste disposal process and the high risk of industrial accidents that could potentially harm millions of people.