Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said recently that that nation's fledgling nuclear power program would help strengthen the country’s economic security.
“The creation of a nuclear power engineering industry represents a brand new intellectual and technological impulse in the national development,” Mikhadyuk said. “It will also provide additional guarantees of state independence and economic security of Belarus.”
Mikhadyuk made these comments at a recent high-level IAEA seminar at its headquarters in Vienna during a discussion on nuclear energy infrastructure development.
Mikhadyuk said Belarus' first nuclear power plant, currently under construction, would be able to replace 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually in Belarus and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 million tons per year. The cost of electricity for consumers also would fall, Mikhadyuk said.
Mikhadyuk also said the Belarusian government intends to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes safely.
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