CONSTRUCTION OF NEW NUCLEAR POWER UNIT IN ARMENIA TO COST 5.2-7.2 BILLION DOLLARS
Noyan Tapan
Se p 24, 2008
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A document on Armenia’s joining
the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) will be signed during a
conference of GNEP in Paris on October 1, the RA minister of energy
and natural resources Armen Movsisian stated at a September 24 event
on presentation of the sections "Information on the Environment of the
New Nuclear Power Unit in Armenia" and "Preliminary Planning Studies"
which make the main part of the documents "Feasibility Study on
Construction of a New Nuclear Power Unit in Armenia" and "Assessment
of the Impact of the New Nuclear Power Unit on the Environment". The
documents were developed with the assistance of USAID.
According to the minister, the indicated documents’ section on
personnel training is being prepared with the help of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will be ready in June 2009, while
the section on geophysical and seismological characteristics of
the platform of the power unit to be built is being developed with
financing of the Armenian side. The indicated documents will be
finished in June 2009.
The minister said that in December 2008 the Armenian government will
submit the bill on construction of a new nuclear power unit of the
Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP). With its adoption, the powers
and obligations of the organizations involved in the construction of
the new power unit will be established.
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch said that it is
planned to decommission the operating unit of the ANPP in 2016,
and taking into account the fact that it generates 40% of Armenia’s
electric power, the replacement of the capacity of the operating unit
is of great importance from the viewpoint of ensuring Armenia’s energy
security. This is the reason why the U.S. government assists Armenia
with creation of new replacement capacities.
In her words, the new power unit will open new opportunities for
Armenia and will enable to deepen the regional energy integration
and develop the regional energy market.
The above mentioned main sections of the documents "Feasibility Study
on Construction of a New Nuclear Power Unit in Armenia" and "Assessment
of the Impact of the New Nuclear Power Unit on the Enviroment" were
presented by Armen Arzumanian, the head of the first company of PA
Consulting Group/ Scientech group involved in the development of
the documents. He said that the operating nuclear power unit will
be decommissioned in 2016 – at the end of the designed term of its
service, in case of availability of a replacement nuclear capacity. It
is envisaged constructing the new power unit in the area of the ANPP
and putting it into operation in 2017.
The construction cost of the new nuclear power unit with a capacity
of 1,000-1,200 megawatts will make 5.2-7.2 billion USD. The only
possible source of debt finance of the project are the export credit
agencies of construction service and equipment supplying countries. The
project’s financing at the expense of own capital will be done with
Armenia’s state resources, and resources of private investors and a
state-private association. Financial resources of the governments of
Armenia’s neighboring sates are another possible source of finance.
The calculated wholesale tariff of electricity to be generated by the
new nuclear power unit will make 7.5 cents a kilowatt if the Armenian
government is the owner of the unit, 9.7 cents if the owner is the
state-private association, and 12.7 cents if the power unit is owned
by an independent investor.
By the documents, for Armenia, the program of expansion of atomic
energy production has no economic alternative because in case of any
scenario of financing the construction of a nuclear power unit, the
cost of electricity generated by a nuclear unit is much lower than
that generated by thermal power plants with an equivalent capacity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
