Saturday, December 22 2018 11:18

ArmInfo.December 22 is the Day of Energy in Armenia.  This year it coincided with half a centuryanniversary of the Armenian nuclear energy. Correspondent  tells about the achievements and problems that Armenian energy  industry has faced today. ArmInfo President of the Union of Nuclear  Power Veterans of Armenia, in 1993-2002, General Director of the  Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Suren AzatyanOur share, says Suren  Grantovich, had a happy fate in the creation and development of the  country's nuclear power industry.

Being still the head of the ANPP shop, for example, I was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor for  the successful launch in 1977 of unit No. 1. 

In 1995, fororganization of the restoration of the operation of unit  2, awarded the "Honorary Certificate" of the RA Government, the Gold  Medal and the Diploma of the Union of Industrialists of the Republic  of Armenia, and according to the results of the contest "CIS_Director  of the Year 1998"> entered the top 100 industry and science countries  of the Commonwealth. In 1993, we initiated the development of a  concept for restarting Unit 2. To determine the remaining resource,  the main condition for further action was the co- production of the  Izhora plant. Until now, my colleagues and I admire the skill of the  Izhora who created a high-quality reactor, whose casing was already  nine years and three months functioning reliably under the influence  of neutron flux in the transitional periods of the start-up period,  and also survived the terrible Spitak earthquake, all the negative  effects of the water chemical and standby mode. We made every effort  to resume its work, together with the IAEA experts re-conducted a  detailed survey of all equipment not subject to replacement. 

As a result, Izhora, as a manufacturer, Gidropress, as general  designer, and general designer of NiAEP, passed the world-wide exam,  since after the Chernobyl accident, they proved the competitiveness  of the nuclear industry of the Russian and post-Soviet space after  the Chernobyl accident.Already on November 5, 1995, with the tacit  consent of the "opponents", for the first time in world history, the  second power unit of the ANPP was re-commissioned; after the  earthquake, it was in mothballed form for six and a half years. At  the station, a lot of work was done on the implementation of the  latest safety systems in accordance with the scientific and technical  documentation and the rules tightened after the accidents at Trimay  Island and Chernobyl NPPs.

 It was an unprecedented example of cooperation, where, to our  happiness, there was an absolute coincidence of interests and  motivations. Independent Armenia overcame the energy crisis and  prevented a devastating environmental disaster. And Russia  straightened its wings and entered the international market of  nuclear energy, having a good base in engineering, in the fuel  component, in engineering, in design and construction, and, very  importantly, with all elements of the technological chain, ranging  from the extraction of natural uranium to the output NPPs are out of  service with proven reference experience.Currently, projects such as  decommissioning, extending the time frame or building new units,  processing or disposing of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste  are complex and cover a wide range of problems related to safety  culture, ecology, non-proliferation of nuclear technologies. To  implement these ambitious programs it is necessary to mobilize the  full potential of specialists. To increase the effectiveness of such  important measures, we need stronger tools and the interest of  current officials of the operating organizations. This alignment of  relationships requires a clear formalization, and yet - everyone  should clearly understand that, in addition to knowledge and  requirements, there are also irreplaceable, hidden knowledge of  memory. It is about luminaries, on whose shoulders infinite  responsibility at that time of the formation of the most complex  technologies of the peaceful atom - the only one in our region. Among  them, AA. Petrosyants, A.P. Nevsky, A.N. Grigoryants, L.M. Voronin,  LD Ryabev, A.A. Abagyan, V.N Arzumanyan, F.Kh. Hakobjanyan andB.V.  Antonov and many others.Our generation took the baton from them with  great responsibility and gratitude from them. It is our generation  that is not only activelyparticipated in the pre-launch stages of the  development of the capacity of blocks NN 1 and 2 in the 70s, but also  during the restart of the block N2 in the years of the hardest  trials, ensuring the safety of the block for 23 years already at the  highest level. 

Today they continue to make their own contribution, including in the  implementation of the program to extend the life of the N2 unit,  passing on their knowledge and experience to the young employees of  the station. I must say that a lot of work has been done in this  direction. The processes that have taken place in recent months  cannot but inspire optimism. It is necessary to attract and trust  highly educated youth to the development of the country. But at the  same time, it is extremely important to prevent the gap of  generations with the maximum use of unique experience and knowledge,  without which it is impossible to make a leap in the economic  development of the state. It is important, for example, to determine  the development vectors, learn how to earn in the foreign market,  develop long-term programs, based on promising state strategic  targets. It is also necessary to turn strategic declarations and  slogans into medium- term and as specific as possible plans of  activity that are understandable to each station employee. It is  important to realize the seriousness of this situation, taking  institutional decisions, take into account all the subtleties and  measures for full implementation in practical life.

It is necessary to solve all these problems now, and the Union of  Nuclear Power Veterans is ready to provide the necessary assistance.  Using the capabilities of the Union, which is a member of the  International Union of Veterans of Atomic Energy and Industry, will  allow solving a whole cluster of issues. With the involvement of  foreign partners, more than 20 different programs are being  implemented that may be useful for Armenia. No need to reinvent the  wheel, all these programs can be adapted to the conditions of the  country. Moreover, without the participation of the Russian side, all  these and other projects in the field of nuclear energy are no longer  meaningful. It is necessary not only to continue cooperation with  Russia, but also to increase it, especially since there is no  language barrier or other problems. On this day, on behalf of the  Union, I appeal to all the power engineers of the country with  congratulations and best wishes. I also congratulate all my  colleagues and partners on the upcoming 2019 with the wishes of good  luck, success and prosperity.