Armenian NPP’s new power unit must be ready for operation in 2036 – deputy minister

SOCHI, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenia plans to have a new power unit of the Nuclear Power Plant in 2036 and fully operate it. The option of building a unit with 1000 or 1200 MW capacity is being discussed. Works are underway for the technical-economic study of the new unit, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan told reporters at a briefing in Sochi on the sidelines of the ATOMEXPO International Forum.

The deputy minister said some documents have already been signed, for example, the memorandum with Rosatom on constructing a new unit. There are meeting protocols and an action plan.

“Currently, the option of building units with a capacity of 1000 or 1200 MW is being discussed. These preliminary technical-economic works are being done in order to see whether these units could be combined with our energy system”, he said.

He added that specialists are now conducting examinations and a final decision will be made only after that. The deputy minister didn’t rule out that as a result of these examinations they could decide to build a unit even with a smaller capacity. But the initial desire is to build power units with 1000 or 1200 MW capacity.

As for the timeframes, the deputy minister said: “In 2036 the new power unit must already be ready for full operation. The tests to connect the network must already be done in 2034-2035 so that in 2036, in parallel with the second power unit, the new unit will start to operate fully. This means that it must have passed the testing stage at least a year”.

Thus, having a new power unit in 2036 is a target.

As for the funding, the deputy minister said it’s too early to talk about it. “But it is an accepted practice in the world – funds are attracted from a country the technology of which we use. For example, it’s very difficult to imagine the construction of a new nuclear power plan with the Russian technology through a funding provided by another country. No private financial structure can finance such a large-scale program without the government’s support. And it’s natural that if we construct an NPP with the Russian design, there will also be a Russian funding”, he said.

The deputy minister said they move forward in accordance with the timeframe. For instance, meetings and discussions are planned now as well, and ATOMEXPO platform is used for this purpose. The Armenian delegation is going to have meetings with the executives of Rosatom to discuss issues relating to both the construction of the new power unit and the double lifetime extension of the NPP’s second power unit. The next meeting is scheduled in late December.

The term of the operation of the Armenian NPP’s second power unit has been extended until 2026 after upgrading works. Currently, works are underway to extend it until 2036. The Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the Russian state corporation Rosatom are working on this direction within the frames of a working group.

Anna Grigoryan