22 Nov 2022 17:03

Armenia, Rosatom drafting pre-feasibility study for new NPP

YEREVAN. Nov 22 (Interfax) - Armenia has signed a memorandum with Russia's Rosatom on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the republic, with work on a preliminary feasibility study currently underway, Armenian Deputy Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Minister Hakob Vardanyan said.

Armenpress quoted Varnadyan as saying at the Atomexpo 2022 forum in Sochi that protocols and an action plan had also been signed.

"Currently, the option of building units with 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.

Specialists from Armenia and Russia began talks on a future new nuclear power plant in the country in the summer of 2022. In particular, a standard VVER power unit with capacity of 1-1.3 gigawatt was being considered.

The Armenian territorial administration and infrastructure minister said in October 2021 that Armenia planned to start building a new nuclear power plant in 2026-2027. He said Armenia planned to commission the new nuclear plant after the current plant stopped operating in 2036.

The existing Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is currently one of the main sources of electrical power in the country. The plant has one working power unit with a first-generation VVER-440 reactor. Fuel for it is supplied by TVEL.