Russian TVEL and Armenian NPP sign fuel supply contract
YEREVAN, August 29. /ARKA/. Russian company TVEL, one of the largest world suppliers of nuclear fuel and the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) signed a contract for the supply of nuclear fuel in the 4th quarter of 2022.
Russian state atomic agency Rosatom, TVEL's parent company, said the supply will cover the current demand of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant.
The only operating nuclear power unit in Armenia with a capacity of 448.25 MW will be supplied with vibration-resistant fuel for the VVER-440 reactor by the Mechanical Engineering Plan, an enterprise of TVEL in the town of Elektrostal.
The Armenian NPP in Metsamor is a major source of electricity production. In 2021, the plant generated more than 2 billion kWh, a quarter of all electricity produced. In the first half of 2022, the nuclear power unit generated 0.92 billion kWh.
"We will continue to provide the Armenian NPP with nuclear fuel until the end of its operational life," said Oleg Grigoriev, Senior Vice President for Commerce and International Business at TVEL.
The service life of the Armenian NPP has been extended until 2026 as a result of a large-scale modernization of the power-generating unit. Rusatom Service, an enterprise of Rosatom, was the key contractor for the project.
"Currently, we are considering ways to extend the service life of the power unit beyond 2026 for another 10 years. We have outlined the measures that will be implemented together with Rosatom to increase the safety of the power plant. Besides, we are considering the construction of a new power unit,' said Director General of the Armenian NPP Eduard Martirosyan.
The Armenian NPP 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.
In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life up to 2026. The service life extension was financed by $270 million Russian loan and a $30 million grant. -0-
