IAEA: Belarus’ national nuclear program is transparent

IAEA: Belarus’ national nuclear program is open, transparent

Belarus works openly and transparently as regards its national nuclear program, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Alexander Bychkov said during an online press conference hosted by BelTA.

When asked on how to dispel the unfounded fears of people in relation to peaceful nuclear energy, Alexander Bychkov stressed: "The recipe is one: openness, transparency and easy access to information. Here I want to thank colleagues from Belarus. Together with invited experts from Belarus IAEA did a number of studies for Belarus to assess the national nuclear program: energy planning, study of the sustainability of the nuclear power system for a longer period, the analysis of the infrastructure for the construction of the first nuclear power plant. We gave a number of recommendations. All of this information is open to the public, NGOs and politicians! All data are available on the Internet, and this is very important.”

According to Alexander Bychkov, explanatory work with the younger generation, people from different segments of the society is needed in any country which is starting on its first nuclear power plant project. "All of this must be part of government policy. By the way, the decision to open an information center in Minsk was a very important step. I think it will help ease some biases and fears of people,” he added.

The atomic energy information center in Minsk will be set up at the National Art Center for Students. A corresponding memorandum was signed by Belarusian Education Minister Sergei Maskevich and head of Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko during the 6th Atomexpo 2014 expo in Moscow on 9 June. The information center will open before the end of 2014.

The atomic energy information centers are multipurpose communications platforms whose purpose is to inform the public about peaceful atomic energy. Centers operate under the auspices of Rosatom in the capitals of the regions where nuclear facilities are built or operated. Each information center is a modern multimedia theater combining panoramic 3D-projection, computer graphics and animation, stereo sound, interactive consoles and personal monitors.

There are 16 centers in Russia. They have already hosted more than 280,000 visitors. There are also similar centers in Hanoi (Vietnam) and Mersin (Turkey).

IAEA praises Belarus’ nuclear energy promotion model

Belarus’ model of promoting its nuclear energy program is hailed by the IAEA as one of the most successful. The opinion was voiced by Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Alexander Bychkov during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 23 June.

“We recommend Belarus’ model to other countries in the following aspect. Today there are various approaches to running nuclear programs in the world. There are countries that build nuclear power plants on a commercial basis with the support of the state, like the United Arab Emirates. There are also countries that build up a specialized solid state vertical while building nuclear power plants, like Belarus. In other words, in Belarus the state is responsible for the construction, supervision and preparation for operating the NPP. Both models are good. However, the second model can work better than the first one for some countries. Each country makes its own decisions in this respect. However, we believe that the Belarusian model is among the most efficient ones,” the Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

According to Alexander Bychkov, the level of Belarus-IAEA cooperation can be an example for other countries starting their nuclear programs. “While promoting its own nuclear energy, Belarus follows the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he added.

In November 2013 the Ostrovets site saw the launch of concrete pouring operations to build the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 was chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian public joint-stock company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-engineering unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.


Nuclear power engineering will inevitably expand

Nuclear power engineering will inevitably expand and it is an obvious fact. The statement was made by Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Alexander Bychkov during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 23 June.

“However, the growth will depend on many political, social, and economic factors. Among other things it will depend on how well the other energy resources do. In my opinion, the training of specialists for the nuclear power engineering industry and allied industries is also important. If we assume that the energy produced by nuclear power will double in the next 15 years — it is the most optimistic forecast — then training the necessary number of qualified personnel to match the growth does not seem feasible. From the technical point of view factories can indeed turn out the necessary amount of equipment for nuclear power plants since their capacity is sufficient but training the necessary number of specialists will be difficult. Since existing nuclear power plants will need a new generation of personnel too, then the industry is going to need three times as much personnel, not two times as much. It is a very difficult task to accomplish,” believes Alexander Bychkov.

According to the IAEA Deputy Director General, many experts and scientists believe that at present nuclear power engineering is a stable and environmentally friendly system for manufacturing energy resources and the mankind should use the significant advantages nuclear power generation provides as best as possible.

“At present electricity is in short supply on the global scale and the fact affects the economic wellbeing of nations. There are countries where new sources of electricity are advisable and there are countries where energy effectiveness is more important,” said Alexander Bychkov. “The diversification of energy sources is one of the obvious global modern trends because energy security is a very important matter for many these days. Nations try to diversify their ‘energy basket’. As you know, natural gas, coal, and oil need rather large communication expenses and stable transportation links. Nuclear power doesn’t need those. For instance, in order to reload a nuclear reactor, delivering a fuel assembly once a year by air or by rail is sufficient!”

The IAEA Deputy Director General also added that various schemes to finance the construction of nuclear power plants have been emerging in the last few years. “The IAEA tracks the approaches that exist in the world. Since nuclear installations are expensive to build and consumers later on should be able to afford the electricity they make, we welcome suppliers of nuclear technologies offering flexible schemes to finance nuclear power plant construction projects, for instance, the way Russia does it. Guarantees of the state, which is building the nuclear power plant, to steadily buy electricity in future are also important. The combination of these considerations shapes the future cost and the competitive ability of nuclear kilowatt hours,” noted Alexander Bychkov.

Nuclear power is a good opportunity for an economic leap

For many countries nuclear power engineering represents a good opportunity for an economic development leap, for resolving many social problems, for doing away with poverty, for enabling access to clean drinking water and modern healthcare standards. The opinion was voiced by Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Alexander Bychkov during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 23 June.

“Nuclear power engineering also means the development of a nation, the introduction of a high-tech industry, and the promotion of safety culture,” Alexander Bychkov was convinced.

According to the IAEA Deputy Director General, now people are no longer afraid of nuclear power plants the way they were after the Fukushima events. “But in minds of many nuclear power engineering is still linked with nuclear weapons, with a great danger although as a qualified specialist I can say that in reality things are totally different,” said Alexander Bychkov.


China has the biggest nuclear power program

China has the biggest program on nuclear power development, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Alexander Bychkov told an online conference hosted by BelTA.

“I will cite just some data: China has launched one reactor this year. By the end of 2014 the Chinese plan to launch four more reactors and start the construction of five new plants. China has not only the biggest nuclear power program but also the strongest needs in new energy generation. Nuclear power plants, however, will not dominate the Chinese energy balance in the future. The country will be building coal and gas electric plants as well,” Alexander Bychkov noted.

The IAEA Deputy Director General stressed that 72 energy generating units are underway worldwide, up 10 from 2013. China is building 28 of them, while Russia is constructing 10.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will consist of two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.