The Belarusian nuclear power plant poses a problem to Lithuania

Abstract:

On 12 May 2016, the Parliament of Lithuania acted on the initiative of the political opposition – the Conservatives, the Liberals and the Greens – and appealed to the government to take action to halt the construction of the Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus, 55 km away from Vilnius. The parliament insisted on the government officially informing Belarus that power produced in Astravyets would not be permitted to enter the Lithuanian power grid and would not be sold in Lithuania.

The construction of the Astravyets nuclear power plant, initiated in 2001, reached an advanced stage. Towards the end of 2016, Russia was expected to supply it with an innovative VVER 1200 type reactor made in Russia, with a capacity of 1.2 GW, which would be cooled with water from the Neris, the river which flows through Vilnius. Production was planned to be launched in 2018, and the second reactor was planned to be put into operation by 2020.

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