BelNPP to be ready for final inspection by early May before issuing operating license - Gosatomnadzor

<p> MINSK, Mar 10 - PrimePress. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP, Astravyets, Grodno Oblast) will have completed the first part of pilot operation stage by the end of March 2021. Afterwards it will undergo integrated testing and in late April-early May it will be ready for final inspection before issuing the operation license. Olga Lugovskaya, head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Gosatomnadzor), told reporters. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In her words, according to the schedule of operations, BelNPP will come to the end of the first part of the pilot operation phase by the end of March, which will be followed by a comprehensive testing. "By that time, all the works related to the safety expertise should be completed and the readiness of the operating organization to perform its function should be assessed. Gosatomnadzor will prepare an opinion report, which will be submitted to the board of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for a decision on issuing a licence," Lugovskaya said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “The nuclear plant must prove that the operation will be safe. To do this, an expert examination is carried out, and documents justifying safety are reviewed. The process is long, science-intensive and resource-intensive, involving a large number of experts. The safety expertise is carried out by the Joint Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research - Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus," said Lugovskaya. </p> <p>   </p> <p> According to Vigen Marukhyan of Gosatomnadzor, scheduled tests of systems and equipment will continue during the commissioning of the first unit of BelNPP, including the possible disconnection of the power unit from the grid. “Until tests are successfully completed, the plant cannot proceed to the next stage. During this period, disconnections from the grid should be perceived as normal,” he said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Energy said March 9 that the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP, Astravyets, Grodno Oblast) will be disconnected from the grid on March 10 in accordance with the program of the pilot operation stage. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The BelNPP’s Power Unit 1 started operation and was connected to the national grid on November 3, 2020. At the end of December the unit started its pilot operation. On February 20, the first unit was scheduled to be shut down for testing and maintenance in accordance with the program of the pilot operation stage, and on March 8 it was reconnected. Before that, Unit 1 had been shut down several more times. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Belarus’ first nuclear power plant in Ostrovets (a town in the Grodno Oblast also referred to as Astravyets) will have two units with a combined capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts. The AES-2006 Russian standard design of (generation 3+) was chosen for its construction. Rosatom’s division Atomstroyexport acts as the general contractor for the NPP construction. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant RUE is the project customer and the future operator of the NPP. The ceremony of the official launch of the NPP took place in early November 2020. According to presidential decree No.447 of November 30, 2020, the first power unit of the NPP will be put into commercial operation in 2021, the second power unit – in the first half of 2022. End </p>

2021-03-11

Primepress