NEW POWER UNIT TO BE BUILT NEAR YEREVAN TPP WILL BE PUT INTO OPERATION
IN 2010
Y EREVAN, SEPTEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. A sitting of the commission on
granting professional competence certificates for expert examination on
environmental impact and approving expert conclusions was held on
September 13. The indicated commission of the RA ministry of nature
protection discussed the working draft of a power unit with a combined
steam and gas cycle, which was submitted by Yerevan Thermal Power Plant
(TPP). In the words of the minister Aram Harutyunian, the technical
re-equipment of Yerevan TPP is of great importance as it will allow to
reduce environmental damage.
The director of Yerevan TPP CJSC Hovakim Hovhannisian said that Yerevan
TPP has been operating since 1962 and is currently working not at full
capacity. It is envisaged to build a new power unit with 189 mw of
electric power and 103 kwh of thermal power in the area adjacent to the
TPP. Comparing the impact of the old and new TPPs on environment, H.
Hovhannisian pointed out some advantages of the new one. For example,
the operation of the new unit will allow to reduce the release of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by more than 600 thousand tons a
year, and the concentration of carbon monoxide will decline about 39
times.
According to H. Hovhannisian, it is planned to put the new power unit
into operation in April 2010. It will be constructed with a long-term
(40 years) 216 million dollar loan that the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC) provided at a low 0.75% interest rate.