Yerevan weighing up pros and cons of Russian project for building NPP

An interdepartmental commission will consider the expediency of implementing in Armenia a project proposed by Russia for a new nuclear power plant (NPP) with a capacity of 1200 MW, the director of the Metsamor NPP, Eduard Martirosyan, told journalists.

By a decision of the Armenian prime minister, an interdepartmental group was created under the leadership of Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Hakob Vardanyan to explore international experience, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Armenian media.

“At the moment, we have studied the Russian experience, we have worked with the Rosatom corporation. Now work is underway with various countries - the design can be American, Korean, or French. That is, in parallel, we are working to provide a modern and cost-effective option,” Martirosyan said.

The most important component, according to him, of course, is safety. The new station, according to Martirosyan, should work for 100 years. The Russian version assumes the operation of the station for 60 years with the possibility of extension twice for 20 years. Under such circumstances, we are talking about a plant with a capacity of 1200 MW.

“We need to understand what capacities will be in 40-60 years. The power of the operating reactor is 440 MW, and this seems to be enough. Still, only nuclear power plants cannot meet all the needs of the state, there must be other capacities,” the plant director underscores.

From a safety point of view, it is advisable that the nuclear power plant to supply 30 per cent of the electricity.

“Does Armenia need a 1200 MW plant at the moment - this should be the result of discussions. The interdepartmental group has been created for this, it should conduct research with relevant specialists, which includes representatives of various areas, including the Ecology and the Finance Ministries. They will evaluate it both from economic point of view and in terms of capacity,” Martirosyan added.

Earlier, Advisor to Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Karen Sargsyan said that among the options for a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, the project of a large-capacity Russian block (for 1000-1200 megawatts) is the best developed.

The design life of the Metsamor NPP ended in 2016.