Belarusian nuclear power plant’s contribution to steady development of energy industry pointed out

OSTROVETS DISTRICT, Mar 25 (BelTA/APP): The Belarusian nuclear power plant project was the key one for the sustainable development of the energy industry and for reinforcing Belarus’ energy security, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz.

The energy minister, the Belarusian Finance Minister, national coordinator on reaching the SDGs Vladislav Tatarinovich, and representatives of UN agencies in the Republic of Belarus took part in a roundtable session on partnership in the interests of implementing the regional strategy on sustainable development of Grodno Oblast. During the roundtable session Denis Moroz pointed out that the energy industry had been entrusted with the key task of ensuring stable and affordable supply of energy. At present Belarus is one of the countries where the entire population has access to electricity.

“Achieving the SDGs is a key priority for the country’s energy sector. Energy industry organizations are actively implementing measures to modernize the power grid infrastructure, introduce energy-efficient technologies, and automate and digitize production processes,” he said.

According to the energy minister, the project to construct the Belarusian nuclear power plant in partnership with the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom has become key to the sustainable development of the energy sector and the strengthening of the country’s energy security. Denis Moroz emphasized that special attention was paid to operational safety during the project’s implementation, which has been repeatedly confirmed during numerous IAEA missions.

“To date, the nuclear power plant has generated over 58 billion kWh of electricity, which has allowed us to replace approximately 16 billion m3 of natural gas. It accounts for about 40% of the country’s total energy balance,” stated Denis Moroz. “But Belarus’ contribution to the global environmental agenda lies in the fact that thanks to the Belarusian nuclear power plant we reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7 million tonnes annually. This is our country’s enormous contribution to the green agenda.”