Energy ministry says first unit of Belarusian NPP has earned a billion rubels

June 17, BPN. The Ministry of Energy has estimated the economic effect of the operation of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant’s (NPP) first unit at 1 billion rubels (about $390 million), said Viktar Karankievič, energy minister, at an exhibition in Minsk.

Ministry of Energy’s press office reported that the first unit generated 9.3 billion kW h of electricity after its connection to the power grid, replacing 2.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The Belarusian NPP is located near Astraviec, Hrodna region, some 10 miles away from the Lithuanian border. It has been built with a Russian loan. The plant’s first unit began generating electricity in November 2020. It was put into commercial operation in June 2021. Vilnius views the plant as unsafe and describes it as a “geopolitical weapon.”