During a meeting at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke about how the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) has influenced the country's development, despite initial concerns about an excess of electricity, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
"I must tell you: we were also concerned. We did not have an energy deficit (before the construction of BelNPP. - BELTA's note). We were worried about what would happen after we built the plant," the head of state noted.
- Lukashenko announced the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in eastern Belarus with a focus on new regions of Russia
- Putin: Belarus is a serious partner of Russia in the field of nuclear energy
However, the availability of additional electricity volumes has led to the development of entire sectors, including in the country's economy. There is an increasing number of electric vehicles, and charging stations are being built. "The most important thing we have already experimented with is converting residential buildings to electricity (referring to heating and hot water supply. - BELTA's note)," shared Alexander Lukashenko.
In this regard, Vladimir Putin noted that there is also an opportunity to more actively develop the field of artificial intelligence and create data centres.
"We have plants that used to run on gas, and we keep them in a cold reserve mode (maintaining operation. - BELTA's note). We have placed them there – we are carrying out mining and so on. Foreigners pay money to the budget, and these plants are working. Therefore, we are practically buying and will continue to buy the same volumes of gas from Gazprom. I think Gazprom will not be at a loss here. Natural gas is needed everywhere today," the President of Belarus explained.