ArmInfo. The Armenian government expects to extend the life of the second power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) until 2040. Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with the radio station Ekho Moskvi.
By the specified date, as the head of the government noted, steps will be taken to build a new nuclear power plant. "I'm counting on Russia's help in this matter, because at the moment we do not have enough financial resources to implement this project, but if our Russian colleagues help us, we will gladly accept this assistance," said Nikol Pashinyan, adding that Armenia is not going to shut down the nuclear power plant.
As ArmInfo analysts note, the Armenian prime minister first officially announced the terms of the possible extension of the operating second power unit of the ANPP until 2040. Previously, all officials left the answer to this question, so as not to toughen the already harsh position of the European Union, insisting on the soonest closure of the bloc. Last year, the general director of the station, Movses Vardanyan, ArmInfo that after 2026, when the unit must be stopped, work will be carried out for its extension for another five years, after which again after carrying out the corresponding surveys of the main equipment, for another 10 years. Thus, it is planned that the station will work until 2040. Prior to this, the government of the country should determine the modification and capacity of the new block in order to find sources of financing and start implementing the project. At present, the program for the extension of the life of the N2 power unit is continuing at the ANPP. According to the deputy director general of the station, the director of the program for the extension of Hera Sevikyan, since June 1 this year. The reactor of the station was stopped for a period of two months. In 2018, the main front of the work will be to modernize the reactor cooling systems, which will further improve the safety of the unit, approaching world standards. In addition, in 2018, a huge amount of work is to be done to modernize equipment for generating electricity - turbines, capacitors, separators, output transformers. Within this stage, it is planned to increase the unit's capacity by 17-20% without increasing the fuel consumption, which will make it possible to increase the efficiency. At present, the NPP unit operates at 92% capacity, which is about 380 megawatts. After modernization, the capacity will increase to 470-480 megawatts, which will become a solid addition, allowing without additional problems to begin servicing the loan of the Russian Federation.
The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet (Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was stopped. In November 1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was involved. In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. Completion of work is planned for 2019. The Government of the Russian Federation allocated a $ 270 million state export loan to Armenia for these purposes and a grant of $ 30 million.
