Following a high-level government meeting chaired by President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a decision was taken to build a third unit at the Belarus NPP in Ostravets. Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich said the work on the second phase of the Ostrovets NPP, Grodno region, will proceed, while parallel studies will explore sites in the Mogilev region for further nuclear development to meet growing energy needs.
The report of the meeting on the President’s website noted: “The outcome of the discussion is a decision to develop the Ostrovets nuclear power plant by implementing its second stage – the construction of a third power unit. However, this does not mean the idea of building another separate NPP in Belarus has been abandoned in principle. Parallel to the construction of the third unit at the BelNPP, work will be organised to survey potential sites in Mogilev Oblast. Subsequently, should electricity consumption increase, a decision could be made to create additional nuclear capacity there.”
In August, Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz had told ONT TV that a feasibility study on building a second NPP in Belarus or a third unit at the existing NPP was in its final stage. “We are essentially considering two fundamentally different options. One is the addition of another 1,200 MWe unit at the site of the Belarus NPP. The positive aspects of such a decision are primarily related to the fact that the infrastructure for another unit has been created there. There is an alternative solution. This is the construction of a new NPP at a separate site. This decision also has its advantages, because it will enable larger generation,” he said. He added that the results of the study will be reported to the government, and then at the presidential level in order to make a decision.”
He noted that President Lukashenko had ordered an investigation into the issue in 2023 with 2025 as a target. “Detailed work was carried out with the Academy of Sciences, Rosatom State Corporation, and the Russian Ministry of Energy to decide under what conditions and parameters we can integrate another nuclear power plant into the Belarus energy system,” he noted.
The Belarus NPP at Ostravets comprises two VVER-1200 power units based on the NPP-2006 project. The 2011 intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the plant provides for cooperation in the design, construction and turnkey commissioning of the units. Russia supported the project with a $10bn to cover 90% of the overall cost. The plant was issued a permit for pilot industrial operation of unit 1 in December 2020. It was connected to the grid in March 2021 and began commercial operation the following month. It was the first VVER-1200 unit to begin operation outside of Russia. Unit 2 was commissioned in November 2023. The plant’s two units (total capacity 2,400 MWe) provide about 40% of the electricity needs of Belarus.
At the government meeting, which took the decision, Lukashenko described the positive results of building the NPP. “We have secured a source of affordable, clean energy for decades to come, achieving both economic and environmental benefits,” he said. He added that greenhouse gas emissions had been reduced by more than 26m tonnes. The plant has generated over 53 TWh of electricity to date, enabling Belarus to completely abandon imports. Dependence on natural gas has been reduced by 14.5bn cubic metres, with its share in energy generation falling from 95% to about 65%, saving more than $1.6bn in budgetary funds.
As part of integrating the NPP into the power system, a large-scale grid modernisation programme was carried out: more than 1,700 km of lines were reconstructed, modern substations built, and breakthrough digital technologies introduced to improve reliability of electricity supply.
“A new branch of the economy has been created in the country, along with the necessary infrastructure and a modern system for training personnel. We did not have any of this before. Over the years of implementing the national nuclear energy programme, we have accumulated unique expertise in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of nuclear facilities,” he emphasised.
“At the same time, Belarus ranks third among European countries with the lowest electricity prices. According to the rating published in June 2025, the lowest electricity costs are in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus.”
He added: “We discussed our cooperation in nuclear energy with Russian President Vladimir Putin during our meeting at the World Atomic Week in late September 2025. There is understanding and support from the Russian side; the ball is now in our court.”
The day before the government meeting, a working meeting was held in Minsk between Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and the Belarus Prime Minister Alexander Turchin. The meeting discussed in detail possible options for the further development of nuclear energy in the Republic of Belarus, according to Rosatom.
The following day, a commission comprising 15 specialists from the Russian nuclear utility Rosenergoatom as well as the Beloyarsk, Kalinin, Leningrad, Novovoronezh and Smolensk NPPs completed an assessment of the operational safety of unit 2 at the Belarusian NPP according to the standards used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions.
The task of Russian specialists, who have extensive experience in such international inspections, was to prepare the personnel of the Belarusian NPP for the OSART mission, which is due to take place in 2026. The purpose of OSART missions is to support IAEA member states in improving the level of operational safety NPPs.
The Russian experts, together with employees of the Belarusian NPP shadowed the work of electricians on duty, reactor and turbine department operators, and employees of other departments, observed scheduled switching, permission to repair equipment, and studied technical regulations.
“The work took place in an atmosphere of cooperation and openness, we were convinced that highly professional employees work at the Belarusian NPP,” said the Deputy Head of the Chemical Workshop of Russia’s Beloyarsk NPP, Pavel Motovilov. “The visit was useful for us too.” Rosenergoatom will prepare the final report by December and then send it to the Belarusian NPP.
