BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/10/2007

Nuclear skills gaps addressed worldwide

by World Nuclear News

In response, deputy energy minister Mikhail Mikhaddzyuk told Belorussian News the country had established a special training program

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been told that his plans for a nuclear power plant are in jeopardy without adequate nuclear engineering skills. His is not the only country facing a skills gap.

Yevgeny Nadezhdin, the UN Economic Council for Europe's regional advisor on energy said in Belarus: "It is essential to realize that construction costs are not the most important thing. The main thing is personnel training. Such training should begin right now, and do it outside Belarus, as there are no people here to train professionals."

In response, deputy energy minister Mikhail Mikhaddzyuk told Belorussian News the country had established a special training program, reached agreements with several countries, and had secured assistance from the International Atomic Energy agency. He added that Belorusian nuclear workers currently in Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine could return home.

Separately, Nuclear.Ru has reported that Belarusian officials are investigating two sites in the Mogilev region: Krasnopolyanskaya and Kushinovskaya. Russia's AtomStroyExport is active in Belarus and has suggested that it act as either main supplier, or as an organizer if another vendor's reactor would be chosen. An ASE official said that four 1000 MWe reactors were under consideration.

Lukashenko told Kyodo News Agency on 18 October that 'American-Japanese, French-German and Russian' reactors were under consideration. He apparently did not distinguish between the two American-Japanese possibilities of General Electric and Hitachi, who merged their nuclear businesses or of Westinghouse, which is owned by Toshiba.

Belarus' first vice prime minister said that a draft law on nuclear power should be submitted for review next month.

Source:

http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=11673