NEW NUCLEAR PLANT IN ARMENIA
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
The Messenger, Georgia
April 26 2007
Armenia’s Soviet-era Metzamor nuclear power plant, similar in design
to Chernobyl’s nuclear power station, is scheduled to close in 2016.
Armenia is considering building a new nuclear facility to meet the
countries electricity needs.
The current nuclear power station generates half of the electricity
consumed in the country. The station consists of two reactors with
a capacity of 815 MWe (Mega-Watt electrical). After a devastating
1988 earthquake in Armenia, the nuclear power plant was closed but
the second reactor, with a 407.5 MWe capacity, re-opened in 1995.
In 2003, the nuclear power station was handed over to Russian RAOES
to manage for a five-year term to help pay off Armenia’s debts.
According to the Armenian deputy energy minister, Armenia’s
hydroelectric and wind resources will be able to satisfy only 30-35
percent of the country’s internal demands.
If Armenia wants to construct a new nuclear power station, it must
begin at once because construction will take approximately ten years.
Currently, the appropriate legislation is being prepared.
Approximately USD 2 billion will be spent on constructing the new
nuclear power station, which will have a capacity of 1000 MWe,
reports the news agency Regnum.
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