Pashinyan: AI development in Armenia requires new energy generation capacity

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday that the development of AI factories in Armenia is increasing electricity consumption and creating a need to generate additional energy capacity.

Speaking in parliament during a discussion of the government’s 2025 state budget execution report, the Prime Minister highlighted that on August 8, 2025, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence and technology was signed between Armenia and the United States in Washington.

Despite being widely criticized by the Armenian opposition as having no real significance, the document has since produced concrete results, Pashinyan said.

“Only 10 months have passed, and at Yerevan State University we already have an artificial intelligence center and a supercomputer. In the Gagarin settlement, we have an artificial intelligence factory,” Pashinyan said, referring to the Eleveight AI project.

He said that a second artificial intelligence factory — Firebird’s megaproject — is planned to be established in Hrazdan in June–July. He noted that through the investment program of Firebird alone, Armenia has an investment potential of $5 billion.

At the same time, Pashinyan emphasized that these developments are creating new challenges for Armenia, as artificial intelligence factories significantly increase electricity consumption.

“Only a year or a year and a half ago, we could have considered that we had a significant electricity surplus and needed to find ways to consume it. Today, we already need to think about what new generation capacities we should create,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the government is already taking concrete steps in this direction. Pashinyan noted that the European Union has reaffirmed its readiness to provide accelerated support for the development of energy storage facilities in Armenia.

“This means that we are moving with major steps toward greater energy independence and more reliable energy security,” the Prime Minister said.

According to Pashinyan, Armenia has significant potential in the field of solar energy, and opportunities to realize that potential are becoming increasingly tangible.

The Prime Minister added that the government has already adopted a program aimed at encouraging the installation of energy storage facilities in the private and industrial sectors.