http://arka.am-YEREVAN, March 21. /ARKA/. Nuclear energy is the cornerstone of Armenia’s strategy to ensure both the country’s energy security and mitigate the effects of climate change, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today when speaking at the First Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels.
According to him, nuclear energy plays an important role for Armenia and helps in the implementation of actions determined at the national level by the Paris Agreement within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“For decades, the Armenian nuclear power plant has served as a critical element of our energy system, ensuring the stability of energy production. Currently, about 30% of our country’s electricity is generated by the nuclear power plant,” Pashinyan said, noting that the Armenian nuclear power plant also symbolizes and strengthens its sovereignty .
He emphasized that Armenia actively cooperates with the IAEA. “The absence of any nuclear or radiation safety incident in the entire history of operation of our nuclear power plant speaks to our unwavering commitment to this matter,” the prime minister said, thanking the IAEA and partner countries for the indispensable technical support and recommendations that played an important role in ensuring safe and reliable operation of the Armenian NPP.
Last December the government approved the allocation of $65 million to extend the service life of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant until 2036.
The Armenian nuclear power plant, the only one in the South Caucasus region, is located near the town of Metsamor, about 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It accounts for about 40% of the country’s electricity generation.
The government has already extended the facility’s lifespan by ten years until 2026 after a major modernization and technical upgrade.
Armenian authorities want to build a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of about 1000-1200 MW. Several options are being considered – either construction of a power unit with a capacity of about 1000 or 1200 MW, or two units of 1000 MW each.
Tentatively, the new NPP will be built on the territory adjacent to the existing NPP (about 80 hectares) and will allow using part of the existing infrastructure.