MINSK, 11 March (BelTA) – The development of nuclear power engineering will allow Belarus to substitute around 5 million tonnes of imported fuel by 2020, Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk told a science and practice conference in Minsk on 11 March. Nuclear power will reduce the prime cost of electricity generation in Belarus. In addition, the country’s greenhouse emissions will drop by 7-10 million tonnes, said the Deputy Energy Minister. Mikhail Mikhadyuk remarked that Belarus had put a lot of efforts into choosing the nuclear power plant design project. “We have scrutinized the potential and possibilities of all the designs under consideration to finally choose a modern Russian design – AES-2006,” said the official. The AES-2006 design is one of the latest ones and boasts an optimal number of active and passive safeguards of the future nuclear power plant. The Deputy Energy Minister reminded that the draft Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on building the nuclear power plant is ready. Belarus has completed all the necessary intrastate procedures while Russia continues doing it. “We expect the document to be signed soon,” said the official. Contract papers for building the nuclear station are also being prepared. Mikhail Mikhadyuk added that thorough work had been done to choose the location of the new facility. Specialists have determined that the Ostrovets site fits the requirements best. The choice has been evaluated by IAEA experts, who praised the efforts Belarusian scientists and specialists had put into choosing the site as well as the final result of the work, said the Deputy Energy Minister.

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