Nuclear power in Belarus () is a branch of the energy sector of the Republic of Belarus based on the use of peaceful nuclear energy for the generation of electricity and heat. As of 2025, the country operates one commercial nuclear power plant—the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) in the Astraviec District, which consists of two power units with a total capacity of 2400 MW.
The transition to nuclear generation became the largest industrial project in the history of independent Belarus. It allowed the country to completely abandon electricity imports and significantly reduce its dependence on natural gas supplies, whose share in the energy balance decreased from 95% to 65%. At the same time, the process of establishing the industry took more than half a century: from the first large-scale surveys and secret mobile reactors in the 1960s to the cancellation of all projects after the Chernobyl disaster and their difficult revival at the beginning of the 21st century.
History
Soviet period The history of nuclear energy development in Belarus began with scientific research projects. As early as 1962, the first research nuclear reactor, IRT-2000, was built in the settlement of Sosny near Minsk. In 1965, the Joint Institute for Power and Nuclear Research "Sosny" began developing a unique project—the mobile nuclear power plant "Pamir". It was a mobile nuclear installation mounted on the chassis of heavy MAZ-537 wheeled tractors. The plant, operated by 28 people, was designed to autonomously supply energy to remote military facilities and could operate without refueling for a year and a half. Two such complexes were assembled, one of which successfully passed tests. However, after the Chernobyl disaster, the project was shut down, and the installations themselves were destroyed; only the metal part of the reactor was preserved, installed as a monument in Sosny.
In parallel with military developments, the leadership of the BSSR acutely felt a deficit of electricity for civilian industry. The republic had no large hydrocarbon deposits or conditions for powerful hydroelectric power stations. In 1968–1969, specialists from the Leningrad institute Teploelektroproekt conducted large-scale surveys for the construction of the first stationary NPP. Due to the need for a large volume of fresh water for cooling, seventeen sites were considered across all six regions: Damanava in the Ivacevičy District, Vierchniadzvinsk near the urban settlement of Vierchniadzvinsk, Nieščarda in the Rasony District, Absterna in the Miory District, Snudy in the Braslaŭ District, Janova on the border of the Polack District and Ušačy Districts, Bialanavičy in the Pietrykaŭ District, Akciabrski near the urban settlement of Akciabrski, Sialiec on the border of the Dziatlava District and Lida Districts, Slonim near the city of Slonim, Narač and Svir in the Miadzieĺ District, Stoŭbcy near the city of Stoŭbcy, Broža in the Babrujsk District, Jalizava in the Asipovičy District, Asipovičy near the city of Asipovičy, and Čyhirynka on the border of the Bychaŭ District and Kiraŭsk Districts.
From this list, in 1971, the union authorities approved the Snudy site. However, the very next year, the Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR (Minenergo) and the Ministry of Medium Machine Building of the USSR changed their decision. Preference was given to the neighboring Drukšiai site in the Lithuanian SSR, as it had more favorable geological conditions and allowed for savings on construction. The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was built there, which also powered parts of the Belarusian territories but left the republic without its own nuclear generation facility.
The loss of the project near Braslaŭ did not stop the nuclear ambitions. According to the strategic plans of the USSR Minenergo, the construction of a nuclear power plant in the south of the republic with a capacity of up to 6000 MW was to begin in 1987, in the north with a capacity of up to 10,000 MW in 1988, and another one in the southeast with up to 8000 MW in 1992. The projects were impressive in their engineering scale. In the north of the country, near Lake Vymna in the Haradok District, one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world was planned to be built, enlarging the lake's area by diverting water from the Dzvina. In the Brest Region, near Bielaaziorsk, a complex was designed where the NPP would work in conjunction with an underground pumped-storage power plant. The most ambitious project was considered in the Stolin District: on the swamps between Stolin and Davyd-Haradok, they wanted to create an artificial cooling sea with an area of 36 square kilometers using water from the Prypiać and build a new city, Vidzibor. However, it was quickly abandoned due to the excessive complexity of execution.
In the early 1980s, projects for the construction of nuclear district heating plants (AST) based on the AST-500 design for the direct heating of large cities were also considered. By December 1985, sites for ASTs near Viciebsk, Homieĺ, and Mahilioŭ had been approved. Simultaneously, a struggle unfolded over the construction of a classic NPP on the shores of Lake Sialiava in the Krupki District. Despite protests from environmentalists due to its proximity to a hydrological reserve, the government of the BSSR finally approved this site in January 1984.
While theoretical debates continued, the authorities launched a real construction project in the Puchavičy District, just 40 km from Minsk. To solve the capital's heating problem, a joint decision by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was made on June 26, 1980, to build the Minsk Nuclear Cogeneration Plant (ATETs) with two VVER-1000 reactors. A large-scale Komsomol construction project began in 1983. On the site of drained swamps, an ideal city for nuclear workers was being erected—the settlement of Družny. By the spring of 1986, the foundation of the first reactor was ready, and a start-up backup boiler house was commissioned.
After the Chernobyl disaster, about 250 families (over 1,200 people) of highly specialized professionals from the evacuated Ukrainian city of Pripyat were relocated specifically to Družny. They were supposed to continue working at the Minsk facility. However, mass radiophobia and public protests forced the union authorities to backtrack, and on July 1, 1987, a resolution was issued to mothball the Minsk NPP. To avoid losing the invested funds and the workforce, the facility was repurposed into a conventional combined heat and power plant running on natural gas. Plans to build other NPPs and ASTs in Belarus were completely cancelled.
Post-Soviet period: from 74 sites to Astraviec The collapse of the Soviet economy and severe radiophobia in society led to a virtual moratorium on discussions about developing nuclear energy in independent Belarus throughout the 1990s. Nevertheless, the problem of energy dependence on Russian energy resources (about 95% of the electricity in the country was generated using imported natural gas) forced the authorities to seek alternatives. As early as the early 1990s, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) theoretically identified more than 70 potential sites for locating a plant.
The real revival of the nuclear program began after 2005, when a new Concept of Energy Security of the Republic of Belarus was approved. Specialists once again turned to researching potential locations. After screening out territories unsuitable due to environmental and geographical parameters (including almost the entire Minsk Region, the Prypiać basin with its high groundwater tables, and the Viciebsk Region due to its small catchment area), four sites remained in play: Krasnapalianskaja (Čavusy District), Kukšynaŭskaja (Škloŭ District), Vierchniadzvinskaja, and Astravieckaja.
The Vierchniadzvinsk site was quickly rejected due to groundwater issues. As of 2007, the eastern locations were considered absolute priorities: the Krasnapalianskaja and Kukšynaŭskaja sites in the Mahilioŭ Region. However, during deep drilling and geological surveys, an insurmountable obstacle was discovered. At a depth of 25 meters, geologists found thick layers of water-bearing chalk (up to 35 meters thick). This created a high threat of karst processes—the formation of underground voids, which made the placement of a heavy nuclear facility critically dangerous.
Following consultations with Russian and Ukrainian engineers, it was decided to permanently abandon the eastern sites. In December 2008, a political decision was made in favor of the backup option—the Astraviec site, located between the towns of Michališki and Varniany in the Astraviec District of the Hrodna Region, just 23 km from the border with Lithuania. This choice was attributed to ideal geological conditions—the presence of a reliable monolithic bedrock without seismic or karst threats.
In parallel, the search for an international partner was underway. Belarus considered proposals from American-Japanese (Westinghouse-Toshiba) and French-German (Areva) companies, and proposals were made to China and the United States. However, due to political motives, the need to sign complex intergovernmental agreements, and lending conditions, the only realistic candidate left was the Russian state corporation Rosatom. On March 15, 2011, an agreement was signed in Minsk with the government of Russia on cooperation in the construction of an NPP, and the Russian side provided a loan of up to $10 billion to finance 90% of the project's cost. On October 11, 2011, a contract was signed with CJSC Atomstroyexport for the turnkey construction of two power units.
Astraviec Nuclear Power Plant
The main stage of construction of the first nuclear power plant in the history of independent Belarus began in November 2013. The "AES-2006" project (Generation III+) was created taking into account the heightened safety requirements following the accident at the Japanese Fukushima NPP. The plant is equipped with two VVER-1200 pressurized water reactors with a total capacity of 2400 MW.
According to technical specifications, the reactors are protected by a double reinforced concrete containment (80 cm of inner layer, a 180 cm air gap, and another 120 cm of outer wall). The structure is capable of withstanding the crash of aircraft fragments weighing up to 5.7 tons, as well as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. Both active and passive safety systems are provided (including additional mobile diesel generators and a core catcher for the reactor core).
The physical start-up and connection of the first power unit of the BelNPP to the power grid took place on November 3, 2020, and it was put into commercial operation on June 10, 2021. The second power unit was connected to the grid in the spring of 2023 and accepted into commercial operation on November 1 of the same year.
During its first years of operation (up to the end of 2025), the BelNPP generated over 53 billion kWh of electricity. This allowed for a significant transformation of the country's economy: The level of consumption of imported natural gas for energy generation fell from 95% to 65%, which saved more than $1.6 billion in budget funds. Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by more than 26 million tons. Belarus completely stopped electricity imports. The city of Astraviec transformed into a dynamic regional center: its population grew from 8,000 to 15,000 people, and about 3,000 specialists work at the plant itself (the average age of the team is 38 years).