MEDZAMOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TO BE DISMANTLED ONLY AFTER CONSTRUCTION OF NEW NUCLEAR PLANTS IN ARMENIA

Trend
Dec 12 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 11 / Trend News , corr. E.Tariverdiyeva,
R.Agayev / Medzamor nuclear power plant, despite of the agreement on
partnership between Armenia and E.U. and participation of the country
in the ‘East partnership’ project, which envisioned its closing,
to be dismantled if only new nuclear power works to be constructed
in the territory of Armenia.

"Closure of the Nuclear Power Plant, in Armenia’s view does not mean
giving up the nuclear option. As such, the possibility to build a
new nuclear site with one of the nuclear powers," Licinia Simao,
an expert on the South Caucasus countries, said.

The annual meeting of the Armenia- EU Council of collaboration
took place in Brussels on Dec. 9, In course of the meeting the
Foreign Minister Armenia Eduard Nalbandyan presented the steps on
implementation of Action plan within the framework of the European
neighborhood policy undertaken by Armenia. According to him,
the implementation of the program is a priority direction of the
collaboration between Armenia- EU, one of purposes of which appears
providing safety of Armenian nuclear power plant and implementation
of the program of building of new plant.

E.U insisted on immediate closing of Medzamor nuclear power plant
and stated that the plant did not meet up-to-date nuclear safety
demands. The U.S., France and Russia have already voiced their
preparedness to assist Armenia to replacement Medzamor nuclear power
plant to a new one.

Medzamor nuclear power plant was designed by Soviet specialists and it
consists of two blocks, which were put into operation respectively in
1976 and in 1980. By the special decision of the USSR government the
plant was stopped after the December earthquake of 1988. On Nov. 5
1995, after 6 years and 5 months of conservation, the second block
of the plant was repeatedly neglected, in the process of restarting
Russian specialists took active part.

The program of promising development of the electric power sector
of Armenia was developed in two basic versions – nuclear and
nuclear-free. In 2006 Armenia declared that the period of operation
of the Armenian station would be completed in 2016. Armenia, after
signing of the Action plan within the framework of the program of new
European neighborhood policy, was bound to shut the obsolete station
within the shortest possible periods.

"It has always been E.U. policy to have Medzamor closed. EU policy,
which doesn’t commit Armenia," Nicolas Tavitian, Director of Inside
Europe, an Armenian think-tank in Brussels, said to Trend News
via e-mail.

However, the replacement of the Medzamor nuclear power plant will be
possible to modern one.

Observers consider closing of the obsolete plant in Armenia not only
the matter of time, but also an issue of collaboration with one of
nuclear powers; it is most probably with Russia.

The plant in Armenia would not be shut, because now it ensures with 40%
of needs of Armenia for the electric power and now it is irreplaceable,
Vladimir Yevseyev, the senior scientific worker of the Institute of
World Economics and International Relations, said.

This is only basis for the relatively economic independence of Armenia,
but even additionally energy resources must supply to this plant. "
Armenia will not close its nuclear station under the pressure of
West", Yevseyev said to Trend News. "The discussion can deal with
the construction of new plant, and I think that Russia would want to
participate in this process".

Russia is well placed to take the lead in cooperating with Armenia,
since it controls important stakes in the Armenian energy sector
already. "This would mean another strategic asset for Russia in the
Caucasus and would greatly undermine the attempts of the EU and the
US to expand foreign policy options for the countries of the region,"
Simao, a candidate at the University of Coimbra, told Trend News
via e-mail.

But Russia must clearly understand that it is not the one, who is
ready to participate in the possible project, Yevseyev said. The U.S.,
apparently, France, have demonstrated readiness to contribute their
will to assist the project, " Russia is not only partner, which is
ready to participate in the project, but it hopes that tender on
construction will give precisely to it", Yevseyev said.

According to estimation of experts, the replacement of Medzamor by
a modern one will take place not earlier than in 2012.

According to Yevseyev, the construction of new plant can be expected,
when the complete production of the resource of existing plant
occurs. "This will occur already to 2012-2015, and then the need
for a new plant will occur, which has higher criterion of safety and
respectively completely is arranged the West," Yevseyev added.

According to Tavitian , the financial crisis, which began in the
U.S. in summer and touched world financial markets, will not influence
on construction of a new plant in Armenia.

According to experts, irreparable ecological catastrophe can take place
while the Medzamor nuclear power plant continues operating. The plant
does not meet the up-to-date standards of electric plants, Ali Aliyev,
the Azerbaijani export on ecology issues, believes.

The plant is located in the very earthquake-hazard region, where the
strongest earthquakes constantly occur

"In the case of earthquake the Medzamor nuclear power plant will not
be able to conceal itself, which is provided in contemporary plants,
and this will lead to the ecological catastrophe", Aliyev, the head
of the Geological and Ecological Department of the Ecology Ministry
of Azerbaijan, said to Trend News. Armenia is a small country, where
there are no places for burying of emissions from the plant. The
supply of electric power from Turkey and Azerbaijan could be stand
as an output from the alley. "If Armenia had good relations with its
neighbors, country would need no plant", Aliyev said.

The concerns on the European side are with security of the facilities
and with assuring that Armenia finds energy alternatives. The model
of construction of the nuclear power plant is similar to Chernobyl and
the plant is located in an active seismic area, making the possibility
of an accident extremely high," Simao said.