Armenia is negotiating the construction of a new nuclear power plant with the Russian Federation, the United States and other countries, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a government hour in parliament on Wednesday.
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“Our program has plans to develop nuclear capabilities. Our existing nuclear power plant has a period after which we will not be able to operate it. And now we are actively negotiating with several partners to build a new nuclear power plant. These negotiations are underway with the Russian Federation, the United States, third countries,” Pashinyan said.
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According to him, the Armenian side is considering the most economically advantageous options, and, in particular, a delegation will leave for the United States from Armenia in the near future to familiarize themselves with the capabilities of modular reactors. He clarified that these reactors make it possible to build low-power modules in stages.
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“Other proposals provide for the construction of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts at once. This is problematic, there are also questions about modular reactors. Our energy experts are analyzing everything,” the prime minister said.
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Armenia now has one nuclear power plant located near the town of Metsamor, 30 kilometers south of Yerevan. There are two power units based on earthquake-resistant reactors of the VVER-440 type.
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The first power unit of the Armenian NPP was put into operation in December 1976, the second – in January 1980. The nuclear power plant was stopped in March 1989 after the Spitak earthquake. The second power unit was recommissioned in November 1995 due to the energy crisis in the republic. With the help of Rosatom, its modernization was completed in 2021.
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The program of the Armenian government provides for the extension of the operating life of the operating NPP unit until 2026, as well as the phased commissioning of new units. We are talking about the possibility of building a medium power unit or low power units.
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Earlier, the Armenian government adopted a resolution on the start of a process aimed at extending the life of the Armenian NPP until 2036.
