Yerevan April 4
Naira Badalian. . In the Comprehensive and Expanded Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union, the theme of the Armenian nuclear power plant is only touched upon in one sentence, which states that the Republic of Armenia should, as soon as possible, submit a road map for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant. There is no other, camouflaged, secret or non- public article on the nuclear power plant in the document. With this statement, Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Hayk Harutyunyan spoke at a press conference on April 4. This agreement, as the deputy minister pointed out, does not deprive Armenia of the right to have a new nuclear power plant.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Energy, at this stage the entire financial resource is sent for the extension of the life of the second power unit of the Armenian NPP. The work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019, and then it will be possible to specifically answer the question of which station will have an operational resource, and whether it will be possible to extend it after 2026 for an additional period. The assessment, which will be given by representatives of the IAEA after the completion of the modernization of the second block, will allow us to understand the terms of the start of construction of a new nuclear power plant, its installed capacity and technology. Thus, the Armenian government will decide to build a new nuclear power plant in 2020-2021.
Atomexpo ", responding to the question of the ArmInfo correspondent, the General Director of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, Movses Vardanyan, reported on the possibility of extending the life of the second power unit until 2040.At the beginning of this year, responding to a question from ArmInfo, Dirk Lorenz, deputy head of the Eastern Partnership at the European External Relations Service, stated that the European Union continues to insist on the early closure of the Armenian nuclear power plant, since it is impossible even to modernize its security level to international standards .