Government resumes search for new investors to build new unit of Armenian NPP
Armenia’s deputy energy minister Areg Galstyan told a public debate today on the future of the national power grid that the government resumed the search for potential investors to build a new unit for the nuclear power plant in Metsamor.
According to him, negotiations with potential investors had been temporarily suspended following the tragic events at Fukushima power plant in Japan.
The deputy minister also said that the capacity of the new unit is very likely to be reduced to 600 megawatt from the earlier proposed 1,000 megawatts. He added that the government is considering also the option of building two units each with the capacity of 600 MW.
He said the construction of two new power units with 600 MW capacity each would enhance the energy independence of Armenia from the current 50% to 73%. He said if this option succeeds the deadline for the commissioning of the new plant would be extended from 2027 to 2036.
The Metsamor plant located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much of northern Armenia.
One of the plant’s two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. The government said earlier it wanted to build a new facility that is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility.
Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. But the government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated as much as $5 billion.
Earlier this year the government decided to extend the service life of the Metsamor facility until 2026. On May 5 Armenian MPs approved the signing of two agreements with Russia, both relating to the extension of the service life of the nuclear power plant.
Under one of the agreement, Russia will provide Armenia with a credit of $270 million and under another one a $30 million grant. The funds will be provided for 15 years with a 5-year grace period and an interest rate of 3% per annum. -0-