13 October 2016

Belarus to reduce number of gas-burning power plants by 2021

MINSK, 13 October (BelTA) – By 2021 Belarus will reduce the share of power plants that burn natural gas to 70-75%, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik during the plenary session of the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum on 12 October.

Thanks to the implementation of government projects in 2016-2020 the share of energy sources that use natural gas will drop from 97% to 70-75% by 2021. In the near future the government’s energy policy will be aimed at reducing tariffs and the cost of energy generation.

The key priorities in developing the national power grid till 2020 will include the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant with the output capacity of 2,400MW, the commissioning of highly effective power-generating facilities with the output capacity of about 350MW, the implementation of measures to integrate the nuclear power plant into the national power budget, and the expansion of the power grid. Projects to use locally available fuels are supposed to be implemented in the next five years. For instance, the possibility of installing a peat-burning boiler with the output capacity of 150MW at the Mozyr cogeneration plant is under consideration. The construction of the Polotsk and Vitebsk hydropower plants with the total output capacity of over 60MW is nearly completed.

According to the Belarusian Energy Minister, the implementation of projects stipulated by the 2016-2020 energy industry development program will allow saving up to 850,000 tonnes of oil equivalent.

Speaking about the construction of the nuclear power plant, Vladimir Potupchik pointed out that the power plant will be able to generate about 18 billion kWh of electricity per annum in basic mode. With a nuclear power plant of its own Belarus will be able to substitute about 5 billion m3 of natural gas every year. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 7-10 million tonnes per annum. The official said he believes that the development of the nuclear energy industry represents a new intellectual and technological impulse in the development of the country. It will also provide additional guarantees for bolstering independence and economic self-reliance.

BELARUSIAN NEWS