Mikhadyuk: Belarusian NPP will have no adverse environmental impact
Construction and operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP) will not have an adverse effect on the environment, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk told an online conference hosted by BelTA on 29 August.
As for Lithuania’s claims on possible evacuation of the Lithuanian capital in the event of an accident at the Belarusian NPP, Mikhail Mikhadyuk noted: “The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the future Belarusian nuclear power plant showed that its construction and use will have no adverse impact on the environment of Lithuania. Even in the event of possible breakdown in the most adverse weather conditions, no shelter or evacuation measures will be required outside the NPP territory.”
“Thus, Lithuania’s claims regarding the location of the future NPP in Ostrovets District are absolutely groundless. We believe the real reason is Lithuania’s decision to construct the Visaginas NPP. Construction of four nuclear power plants (the Belarusian NPP, the Baltic NPP, the Visaginas NPP and one in Poland) has been officially announced, and they are believed to become the main competitors on the electricity market in the region,” the official said.
Mikhail Mikhadyuk noted that when planning the NPP design and construction Belarus has strictly adhered to the international agreements and the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention), IAEA Convention on Nuclear Safety and other applicable international instruments.
Belarus’ EIA report provides, in full in accordance with the Espoo Convention, the information about possible threats and risks during the project implementation. Simulations of accidents showed that Lithuania will not need to conduct protective activities (evacuation, decontamination, etc.). There are no grounds for Lithuania to be concerned about the location of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
The site for the NPP construction has been selected in accordance with the IAEA standards. The survey materials on alternative sites were examined with the participation of experts from the IAEA in the course of the ad hoc expert missions in 2008. The IAEA experts praised the volume and quality of the works performed by Belarus on each site, and also noted that Belarus has more rigorous national standards in this area as compared with the existing IAEA standards,” he noted.
“It should be noted that the IAEA standards do not contain recommendations on the minimum distance from the power plant to population settlements. Selection criteria include security guarantees. In international practice there are many examples when nuclear power plants are located near large cities,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk added.
Belarus looking into possibility of second NPP construction
The Energy Ministry of Belarus is looking into the possibility of constructing the second nuclear power plant (NPP) in the country, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk told an online conference hosted by BelTA on 29 August.
“There are no concrete plans to construct the second NPP in the country. Yet, the issue should be kept on agenda as the price for organic fuel is constantly increasing while its reserves are steadily dwindling,” the official said.
In this vein, the ministry is scrutinizing the issue taking into consideration the economic situation the country will have by the moment the first nuclear power plant is constructed as well as prospects and supplies of energy resources to Belarus and their cost.
This topic requires careful consideration, and we are going to do this together with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and other bodies. If after the Chernobyl accident, the NAS of Belarus and the ministry had not resumed studies on possible sites for NPP and other issues in the 1990s we would not have started on the NPP construction project so swiftly, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk. He noted that a preparatory phase usually takes 10-12 years while in Belarus it took 4 years.
According to the deputy minister, construction of over 100 units is currently in progress worldwide. Not many countries gave up on their nuclear programs after the Fukushima accident. “Germany gave up under the pressure of the green. But I think that in a few years there will come a time when they reverse their decision. Many foreign specialists predict this,” he believes.
By closing the NPP Lithuania generated a growth of tariffs for the population and for the real sector of the economy. Lithuania is now revisiting the issue of nuclear energy. “Stress tests have been done on all nuclear stations. Some need to be gradually taken out of service. Still we will have to build new nuclear plants using modern technologies. There is no other way out,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk noted.
Ostrovets District development plan to take into account NPP construction
The Economy Ministry of Belarus is working on the Ostrovets District development plan taking into consideration the construction of the nuclear power plant, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk told an online conference on the BelTA website on 29 August.
He noted that about 8,000 people now live in Ostrovets. The regional development plan allows for the population increase of up to 30,000-35,000. A housing construction program is being implemented to provide NPP builders with accommodation. Four apartment buildings were constructed. Next year, the construction of a school and a kindergarten will be launched and the district hospital will be upgraded and expanded.
To reduce the burden on the state budget, the social infrastructure (stores, sports facilities, public services facilities, etc) will be built using private investments; land plots under these facilities will be auctioned. The Ostrovets District Executive Committee has already started working on it.
“The Economy Ministry is working on the regional development program making allowance for the NPP construction. In a bid to raise direct investments into the production and service infrastructure and create new jobs, preferential terms might be offered to investors (like those in free economic zones)”, Mikhail Mikhadyuk informed.
Experienced foreign specialists to operate Belarusian nuclear station
There are plans to hire about 70 experienced foreign specialists to operate the Belarusian nuclear power plant, Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said at the online conference hosted by BelTA on 29 August.
The official said those are specialists with hands-on experience to fill about 70 key posts. Mikhail Mikhadyuk said that people with practical experience in addition to trained Belarusian specialists should man their stations during the first few launches for the sake of continuity and guarantees.
At present eight foreign specialists work for the directorate for building the Belarusian nuclear power plant. “We are now forming the foundation for the main production departments of the directorate,” said Mikhail Mikhadyuk. In his words, they get many applications from Russia, Ukraine, and Lithuania from people, who would like to work at the Belarusian nuclear station. The people are attracted not only by the possibility of operating the power plant but also by the calm and stable situation in the country, the official said.
Speaking about personnel training for the nuclear station, Mikhail Mikhadyuk said that in line with the general contract on building the power plant the personnel will be trained by the Russian side both in Belarus and at Russian power plants, which already exist or are being built in Russia. “We believe that workforce training is as important as the technology and even more important than that,” stressed the official.
According to Mikhail Mikhadyuk, it will be done in several stages. During the first stage – two years after the contract was signed – the schedule for recruiting nuclear station staff will be worked out using the construction schedule as the guideline. After that regulations will be put together to lay down requirements for the personnel and people themselves will be shortlisted and hired. “We should have the entire staff as per regulations two years before the nuclear power plant goes online,” remarked Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
The second stage, before the first energy unit goes online, provides for commissioning a training center and recruiting instructors while nuclear station personnel will be recruited in compliance with the organization chart of the nuclear station’s first energy unit. People will be trained continuously, said the Deputy Energy Minister.
The third stage, before the launch of the second energy unit, includes the training of personnel for this energy unit and the development of the strategy to manage human resources in the future taking into account future development of the nuclear power engineering industry.
Efforts are also put into the formation of a national system to train personnel to man the future nuclear power plant, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk. The government program for training nuclear energy industry personnel in 2008-2010 has been implemented since 2008. As part of the program the Belarusian State University, Belarusian National Technical University, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radio Electronics, and International Sakharov Environmental University are training students in new professions in the area of nuclear power engineering. Internships have been arranged for professors and researchers of higher education institutions abroad, with field experience available to students in countries with a well-developed nuclear energy industry (Russia, Ukraine).
Chinese NCPE to build power lines for Belarusian nuclear station
The Chinese company NCPE will build power lines for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said at the online conference hosted by BelTA on 29 August.
NCPE is the lowest bidder for the project. The contract with NCPE was signed on 8 June 2012, said the official.
Following the relevant proposal of the Belarusian government the project to deliver electricity from the nuclear power plant has been included into the list of projects that the Export-Import Bank of China will consider financing as part of the previously signed general credit agreement. The agreement was signed by the Belarusian government and the bank. A tender among Chinese companies was held on conditions of the bank.
Mikhail Mikhadyuk said that materials and equipment for the nuclear power plant as well as relevant services will be purchased by ZAO Atomstroyproject, the general contractor in charge of building the Belarusian nuclear station, with approval of the customer (the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate) on a competition basis. Tenders will be held in line with the power plant construction schedule and foreign companies may take part in them.
Belarus central state budget to invest Br257bn in nuclear station in 2012
As much as Br257 billion from the central state budget will be invested in the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2012, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk said at the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 29 August.
There are plans to channel Br257 billion out of the central state budget in 2012 into the infrastructure required to build the nuclear power plant, said the official.
After the decision to build the nuclear power plant in Belarus was made, preparations began, including the construction of the infrastructure for the nuclear power plant. The infrastructure included a united pioneering manufacturing base, the manufacturing base required to build the power plant, housing premises, motorways and railways, power lines to feed electricity from and to the power plant. Project documents were made. The work was financed by the central state budget and relevant loans.
Mikhail Mikhadyuk reminded that an intergovernmental agreement was signed on 25 November 2011 to grant a state export loan to the Belarusian government for the sake of building the nuclear power plant. The agreement provides for allocating up to $10 billion to finance 90% of the contract to build the nuclear station.
Asked whether Belarus may run into problems regarding the financing of the nuclear power plant construction because foreign debt repayment will peak in 2013-2014, the Deputy Energy Minister said that the terms of the loan and the deadline to return the loan take into account foreign debt repayment.
The official said that in 2012 as much as $148.5 million out of the Russian state loan will be spent on building the nuclear power plant.
Now the Belarusian Finance Ministry in association with the state corporation Vnesheconombank and OAO Belvnesheconombank are about to complete the approval of the draft credit agreement on taking out a commercial loan to make the advance payments that the general contract to build the nuclear power plant requires. As much as $20.7 million will be required in 2012, said the official.
Belarus may buy nuclear fuel outside Russia
Belarus may potentially buy nuclear fuel from sources other than Russian suppliers, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk told BelTA at the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 29 August.
He remarked that in accordance with the present agreements the Russian side has to supply nuclear fuel as fuel rod arrays. Those are required for the initial load and consequent reloads of the energy units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
Speaking about who else can supply fuel for the Belarusian nuclear power plant if necessary, the official said that at present the US company Westinghouse Electric operates on the market of fuel for energy units that employ Mark 1000 water-cooled power reactors. The company started supplying fuel rod arrays to Ukraine in 2011. In line with the contract the company will deliver about 630 fuel rod arrays in 2011-2015 for the sake of step-by-step replacement of Russian fuel in at least three energy units that use Mark 1000 water-cooled power reactors. In the future Ukraine intends to start manufacturing nuclear fuel of its own, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
Thus, the potential ability to buy fuel from other suppliers is there, said the official.