It was hard to imagine it some ten years ago. Even today it is sometimes difficult to comprehend that Belarus did not only conquer space, but also became a nuclear power. This year, the second power unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) is to be put into commercial operation. Trial connection to the power grid is scheduled for the spring. Let's wind things back and recall how the decision to build a nuclear power plant in Belarus was made. What are the three most important tasks that the NPP addresses and why did Lukashenko call the Belarusian nuclear power plant a burr in the saddle of the European Union. How many safety levels does the NPP have? The answers to these questions are in a new episode of the After the Fact: Lukashenko's Decisions project.

Back in August 2012 Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the construction site of the nuclear power plant. He noted: “We should focus on high technologies. There is no technology more advanced than space and nuclear power. Therefore by harnessing this kind of technology we are boosting the intellectual potential of the nation. This is the future of Belarusian people.”

When did Belarus decide to build a nuclear power plant?

The decision to develop nuclear energy in Belarus did not come out of nowhere. Back in the 1980s, the construction of a nuclear heat and power plant began near Minsk as part of the USSR Energy Program adopted in 1983. Yet the nuclear energy program was discontinued after the Chernobyl disaster. In the end, a gas-fired power plant was built instead of a nuclear facility near Minsk.

In the 1990s, the state of energy supply in Belarus was evaluated and nuclear energy entered the agenda again. According to experts, the shortage of energy capacities could only be remedied by using organic and nuclear fuels. This could reduce electricity costs and ease dependence on gas supplies. Yet it was not until the mid-2000s that the issue was revisited seriously. In 2005 the president approved Belarus' Energy Security Concept and gave an instruction to study the feasibility of building a nuclear power plant.

Already at that time, more than four hundred nuclear power units were in operation around the world, most of them in Europe where nuclear energy accounted for more than 30% of electricity production. For example, France derived about 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy. In Belarus, thermal power plants produced 93% of energy using gas. According to estimates, the construction of a nuclear power plant was expected to cut this amount by a third.

“This position is based on solid evidence and research. Scientists analyzed domestic energy needs and took into account international practices that suggest that nuclear energy will become the key tool to overcome the global energy crisis,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said at an energy security meeting in 2006.

After many months of studying the possibility and feasibility of building a nuclear power plant, in early 2008 the Security Council made a final political decision to build a nuclear power plant in Belarus.

“Construction of a nuclear power plant is a feasible project, a strategic task, and Belarus is not going to abandon it. I think future generations will appreciate our decision,” the president said back then.

belta.by