The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 6 2007
Armenia to close nuclear power plant
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
Thursday, December 6
Yerevan finally agreed to shut down its only nuclear power plant,
which accounts for almost 50 percent of Armenia’s electricity supply,
at a government session on November 29.
The reactor, located at Medzamor (30 kilometers from Yerevan) first
went into service in 1980, and was closed owing to the 1988
earthquake, before resuming operations in 1995. The Armenian
government has come under pressure from the EU to close the reactor,
although the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan that it adopted
in 2006 did not specify a deadline for its closure.
Shutting down the plant will cost up to USD 280 million, according to
the Armenian Energy Minister, Armen Movsisian, and the EU has already
offered loans of USD 295 million to facilitate the process.
Both the US and Russia have pledged assistance for constructing a
replacement power plant, which is planned to have an output of 1 000
megawatts, and will cost over USD 3 billion to build, according to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian.