Belarusian nuclear power plant to get nuclear fuel in Q4 2017

The delivery of nuclear fuel to the Belarusian nuclear power plant will begin in Q4 2017, BelTA learned from Anatoly Bondar, Chief Engineer of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, on 17 February.

“A supplemental agreement to the general contract on nuclear fuel deliveries is being prepared. The time of delivery is Q4 2017. The fuel will be loaded in line with the schedule in early 2018. So there is plenty of time before the loading phase but we are looking closely at all the conditions now. We see no problems with the timeframe. Everything proceeds according to the schedule,” noted Anatoly Bondar.

The configuration of nuclear fuel and the responsibility of the sides during transportation are being discussed now. “We were thorough about the transportation of the reactor vessel for the first power-generating unit. Even more attention, safety and security measures will be required to deliver the nuclear fuel. This is why these things will be stipulated in detail by the supplemental agreement to the general contract,” said the nuclear power plant’s Chief Engineer.

The Russian company TVEL is expected to supply nuclear fuel for the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The company is part of the fuel division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom. The division comprises enterprises that make nuclear fuel, convert and enrich uranium in addition to research and design organizations. Every sixth energy reactor in the world is powered by TVEL fuel.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.