Sevak Sarukhanyan: Armenia has no alternative to development of nuclear energy

Sevak Sarukhanyan: Armenia has no alternative to development of nuclear energy

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia is going to construct a new unit of the NPP with 1000MW capacity with participation of Russia, which will supply equipment for the nuclear island making 20% of the project entire cost. The new unit’s construction is planned to be launched in 2012 and completed in five years.

Commenting on this initiative, Chairman of All-Armenian Association of Power Specialists NGO Slavik Sargsyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that energy produced by hydropower stations of Armenia is enough for providing Armenia with electric power.

According to Sargsyan, the energy production by hydropower stations is safer and more reliable than by a nuclear power station. He also believes that the energy produced by the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) will be only exported, while Armenia will become more dependent on external sales markets.

“Georgia or Turkey will hardly be buying electric power from us, while Iran will be purchasing it at a small volume and only in exchange for its gas,” said Sargsyan. According to him, all experienced Armenian specialists of the energy system have emigrated from the country, as a result of which currently Armenia has no professional experts in the field of nuclear energy.

Slavik Sargsyan believes that in addition to the fact that the NPP is radioactive, it may become a target of Azerbaijan in case of a war.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of Noravank Scientific-Research Foundation Sevak Sarukhanyan believes that the construction of the new unit of Metsamor NPP is more than expedient, as Armenia has only few sources for energy production. “All the other sources produce limited quantity of energy. Hydropower stations change rivers courses, what leads to ecological consequences. And they can produce only 20% of the entire volume of energy consumed by Armenia without causing damage to environment,” he said.

Sarukhanyan added that VVER-1200 water-water energetic reactor produced by Russia is among the most save nuclear reactors in the world.

Russia and Armenia signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation for construction of the nuclear energy unit and nuclear power plants on Armenia’s territory on August 20, 2010.

Armenia’s NPP is located near Metsamor town. The plant has been put into operation since 1976. Currently, only the plant’s second unit is operating with capacity of 407.5MW. According to specialists, the NPP can function until 2016.

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