ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities are negotiating with Russia about the possible participation in the construction of a new NPP in the Republic, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan told RIA Novosti.
Avinyan is currently in New York where he participates in UN events. "Our energy system is built on three pillars - nuclear energy, thermal energy and hydropower. The shares of energy generation from these three sources are almost equal. We don't want to give up on nuclear energy," he said. "We will continue and are now looking at the possibility of building a new nuclear power plant after the nuclear power plant in Metsamor is shut down," the Armenian Deputy Prime Minister said.
"We are ready to discuss with Russian partners, and we are already discussing this topic (of Russia's possible participation in the construction of a new NPP in Armenia). Such negotiations are already under way, "the Deputy Prime Minister said.
It should be noted that the Armenian NPP consists of two units with Soviet (Russian) VVER 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 was stopped. In November 1995, in connection with the acute energy crisis, the second unit of the plant with a capacity of 407.5 MW was activated. In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. Completion is scheduled for 2021. The government of the Russian Federation has allocated Armenia for these purposes a state export credit in the amount of $ 270 million and a grant of $ 30 million.