Minister: Armenia not to give up the idea of building new nuclear power plant
20.10.2017,
16:18
The government is not going to give up the idea of building a new nuclear power plant, Armenian minister of energy infrastructures and natural resources Ashot Manukyan said today.
YEREVAN, October 20. /ARKA/. The government is not going to give up the idea of building a new nuclear power plant, Armenian minister of energy infrastructures and natural resources Ashot Manukyan said today. Speaking to reporters, he said the government is considering now the option of building a small modular reactor, which he described as a ' new revolutionary technology' in the field of nuclear energy. In his words, modular systems have reached the stage of industrial testing, and the first results are expected by 2020.
"A modular 50 MW reactor is a separate closed system, which can be installed anywhere, while infrastructure construction costs are low because it is self-sufficient and it only needs to be connected to the power system to begin to operate," Manukyan said. As the minister noted, this means that the international community may reconsider nuclear power plants, since the advantage of a small reactor is that it has virtually no seismic risks, and neither environmental ones.
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities said they would build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging facility, which accounts now for about 40 percent of Armenia's electricity.
In March 2014, Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life because of delay in building a new unit. The service life extension has become possible thanks to Russia’s financial resources. The country was to provide $270 million to Armenia as loan and $30 million in grants. --0
"A modular 50 MW reactor is a separate closed system, which can be installed anywhere, while infrastructure construction costs are low because it is self-sufficient and it only needs to be connected to the power system to begin to operate," Manukyan said. As the minister noted, this means that the international community may reconsider nuclear power plants, since the advantage of a small reactor is that it has virtually no seismic risks, and neither environmental ones.
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities said they would build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging facility, which accounts now for about 40 percent of Armenia's electricity.
In March 2014, Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life because of delay in building a new unit. The service life extension has become possible thanks to Russia’s financial resources. The country was to provide $270 million to Armenia as loan and $30 million in grants. --0
