Belarus - World Nuclear Performance Report
Belarus has two VVER-1200 reactors, located at Ostrovets, about 120 km northwest of Minsk. These reactors were the first VVER-1200s to be built outside of Russia. Unit 1 was connected to the grid in November 2020 and unit 2 in May 2023.
The plant provides about 35% of the country’s electricity needs. At present the plant operates on a 12-month refuelling schedule. At a meeting between TVEL and Belarusian officials in April 2025, extending the time between fuel reloading at the plant to 18-24 months was discussed.
Belarus is considering the construction of either a second nuclear plant or a third unit at Ostrovets. In November 2024 the Ministry of Energy confirmed it was working on a feasibility study that it expected to conclude in 2025. In March 2025 President Alexander Lukashenko said that the country had “asked the Russians, if possible, to build a second power plant.”
In October 2024 Russia’s TVEL and the Belarusian Organisation for Radioactive Waste Management entered into an agreement to develop infrastructure for radioactive waste in Belarus. In June 2025 Belarus’ Energy Minister Denis Moroz said that country was looking at three potential areas to locate its planned radioactive waste disposal facility: Grodno, Mogilev and Gomel.
Electricity generation by age of reactor
