ArmInfo. Armenia cannot do without nuclear energy, Armenia's ex-premier Hrant Bagratyan told ArmInfo.
Justifying his position, the ex-prime minister pointed to significant reductions in oil and gas reserves, which, moreover, are quite expensive compared to nuclear fuel. At the same time, Bagratyan considered the possibility of replacing nuclear power with alternative energy sources, including solar and wind energy, inappropriate, since we are talking about basic power, which renewable and alternative energy sources simply do not have. "Of course, nuclear energy has prospects in the country, but the question is how to manage it, especially if we are talking about good fuel, the reserves of which far exceed oil and gas reserves. Lately there has been a lot of talk about thermonuclear energy, I am not an expert, but it is possible that it will replace nuclear energy, but this is a matter of distant prospects," the former prime minister said.
Bagratyan also pointed to the possibility of building units with small modular reactors, in the creation of which the Russian Federation has achieved the greatest success. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the established logistics for the supply of nuclear fuel from the Russian Federation, which is simply impossible to do if we are talking about American analogues. It must also be borne in mind that today it is the Russians and the Chinese who dominate the development and use of small-scale rockets. "It is also important to take into account the fact that the construction of SMRs is an expensive undertaking; investments in the amount of $8 million are required to create 1 MW of power," the former prime minister emphasized, adding that SMRs cannot replace a full-fledged nuclear power plant, and for this the republic needs a stationary unit with a capacity of 600 MW. If this is not done, then in 10 years the Armenian nuclear power plant will have to be closed.
Despite the talk about small modular reactors, which include reactors with a power of no more than 300 MW, they are largely presented only on paper. They are being developed by 19 countries, including Russia, South Korea, China, the USA, Argentina, Great Britain, etc. Currently, there is more and more talk about the possibility of building American modules in Armenia. The first steps on this path were taken back in May 2022, when RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. A year later, the United States officially announced the possibility of building small nuclear reactors in Armenia. Last June, a working group visited the United States to familiarize itself with American technologies.
The RA government is inclined to build small modular reactors, but the main obstacle on this path is that currently there are no operating nuclear power plants of this type in the world. For many, including American companies, everything is in the development stage. South Korea has also expressed interest in providing Armenia with modular power units with a capacity of 170 MW, which are similar in design to American ones, but the problem is that this development has not yet been licensed. It is for this reason that the RA government, which gives preference to the reference bloc, is in no hurry to make a final decision on the new bloc. Moreover, the stationary unit with a capacity of 1200 MW proposed by the Russian side may simply not fit into the country's energy system, the entire energy potential of which falls within 1000 MW.
Based on this, ArmInfo analysts believe that the service life of the current power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, closer to 2036, will once again be extended until 2040, after which the station will be closed, and this will make the history of the Armenian nuclear energy a thing of the past. In December last year, the Armenian government decided to allocate $65 million from the country's state budget to re-extend the operating life of the second power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant - until 2036. Work to implement the program is carried out by Rusatom Service, with which a corresponding agreement has been concluded. The customer of the project is the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, which received government funds in the form of a budget loan.
