Media: An Emergency Has Occurred At The BelNPP
3- 13.08.2026, 20:18
- 3,208
The power unit was unexpectedly shut down.
In late July, the second power unit at the BelNPP was unexpectedly taken offline for nine days. The official explanation was that diagnostic tests were being conducted on the electrical equipment. However, a source from "Zerkalo" claims that an emergency occurred at the plant an emergency occurred—a water leak in the turbogenerator casing. Experts consider this version plausible and point out that similar equipment from the same Russian manufacturer has already caused a serious incident at a nuclear power plant in Russia.
On July 26, the BelNPP press service reported that the second power unit had been disconnected from the grid. Nine days later, plant management reported that, following diagnostic measures, the power unit had been brought back online and restored to nominal operating parameters.
However, a source at the BelNPP who wished to remain anonymous claims that the shutdown was not scheduled—it was caused by malfunctions.
“The actual cause was excessive moisture in the housing of the TG-2 turbogenerator. This occurred due to a loss of pressure in the water supply system, causing water to leak into the housing of one of the nuclear power plant’s key operational components.” The turbogenerator was manufactured by the Russian company “Power Machines,” which also manufactures and maintains this equipment,” the source said.
Back in 2017, during the construction of the first power unit at the BelNPP, Russian nuclear physicist Andrei Ozarovsky warned about the delivery of a defective turbogenerator from the Russian company “Silovye Mashiny” to the Belarusian nuclear power plant. A similar incident in 2016 led to an accident at the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant and an unscheduled shutdown of a power unit.
A short circuit was cited as the cause. As a result, it was decided not to repair but to completely replace the generator’s stator, a process that took 2.5 months.
Andrei Ozarovsky did not rule out the possibility that a turbogenerator with similar problems could have been installed at the second power unit of the BelNPP as well.
“The second unit was built much later, and it seems the manufacturer should have corrected the identified defects by that point. But no one is saying there can only be one mistake. Designers and engineers make mistakes. It’s quite possible that the shutdown was caused by some other flaw. After all, there aren’t just design errors, but also, for example, manufacturing or assembly defects,” the expert explains.
According to the physicist, even without serious consequences, the mere fact of the shutdown is an important indicator.
“We need to note that there has been yet another shutdown. It affects economic indicators.” After all, the authorities said that the BelNPP is purely an economic project. That means the plant should be operating. But, as you can see, it keeps acting up. A nine-day shutdown is a serious matter—if the economy mattered to anyone,” notes Ozarovsky.
As for the concealment of information, according to the expert, nuclear industry officials are generally reluctant to share it.
“We know from experience that they try to conceal information that is unfavorable to them, and sometimes even lie outright,” he adds.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first abnormal situation at the second power unit of the BelNPP that the plant’s management has tried to conceal. In December 2024, it was taken offline on the night of December 4 for nearly two weeks. On December 19, “Zerkalo” learned of this and reported on it. According to our information, the cause was the activation of a safety system due to a leak in the primary circuit, which carries radioactive material.
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