YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. The development of the concept of measures to extend the service life of the Armenian nuclear power plant until 2026 will be completed by the end of this year, CEO of the facility Movses Vardanyan told ARKA news agency.
“To extend the operation of the nuclear power plant, it is necessary to develop a concept of measures to improve its safety, to coordinate it with interested organizations in Armenia with the involvement of specialists from the Russian Rosatom state atomic corporation and then get down to its implementation,” Vardanyan said.
According to him, an Armenian-Russian working group is being created, which will include technical specialists from specialized organizations, namely from the Armenian NPP, the Armenian Armatom Research Institute, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, which is in charge of the energy sector, the Public Services Regulatory Commission and the Russian Rosatom-Service, a division of Rosatom.
“This working group will develop a concept of measures for after 2026, including the timing of its implementation and the financial part,” said Movses Vardanyan.
Vardanyan also said risks are present in all technological processes. “Risk factors are associated, in particular, with the processes of burning the reactor’s vessel, but the involvement of Russian specialists, who have substantial experience in reactor vessel burning will practically reduce them to zero,” Vardanyan stressed.
Regarding the extension of the ANPP operation after 2026, Vardanyan said that this year the necessary justifications will be completed and submitted to the regulatory body, including the revised Safety Analysis Report (SAR), which is the most important of the package of documents considered by the regulator before issuing license to extend the operation of the facility.
“On September 1, we will submit to the regulator an application with a new concept that we are ready to operate the plant after 2026,” Vardanyan said, pointing out that the launch of the plant after the annual scheduled maintenance in 2021 will be carried out with a new license.
The Armenian nuclear power plant, the only one in the South Caucasus region, is located near the town of Metsamor, about 30 km west of Yerevan. It accounts for about 40% of all electricity produced in Armenia.
The modernization of the Armenian NPP is underway now to increase its safety and efficiency. The key contractor for the project is Rosatom Service. -0-