Armenia cleared the way for a new nuclear power plant, despite green groups’ objections that its location could put the capital, Yerevan, at risk. Earlier this month, the government approved the creation of Atomstroyexport, a Russian company that will own the station.
“Today we are making a political decision, we are giving our agreement to the creation of a joint venture with our Russian partners,” said Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian on Dec. 3. Armenia plans to finish the new generating unit by 2016, and it will replace the Metsamor plant, which produces 40 percent of the country’s power but is nearing the end of its life. Without the nuclear plant, Armenia would be largely dependent on gas imported from Russia or Iran.
“The new nuclear power station will secure Armenia in terms of its energy system. A nuclear reactor is necessary as an energy resource that can ensure the self-sufficiency of the country,” said Sevak Sarukhanyan, an economist and deputy director of the Noravank think tank. Sarkisian said the new station was crucial to efforts to revive Armenia’s economy, which has suffered both from the post-Soviet collapse and the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. “If we do not build the nuclear power station now, of course, our competitive position will significantly worsen,” he said.
The construction of the plant will take five or six years, and it should have a working life of 60 years, which will guarantee Armenia’s electricity supply for long into the future. Ecological groups, however, remain strongly opposed to the plans. Hakob Manasaryan, head of the Union of Greens, said the government did not explore other energy options in its rush to approve a new nuclear plant. He worried that Armenia, which is prone to earthquakes, could see a disaster such as the one that struck Ukraine’s Chernobyl reactor 23 years ago.
“I have the impression that the officials are thinking only of the next 15 or 20 years. A new structure, with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts should be at least 100 to 150 kilometers from big cities. The existing Metsamor station, located just 20 km in a straight line from the capital, does not even meet this condition,” he said. “There is not one safe working reactor. Of course it is good if it is super-modern, which means, it is less dangerous, but who can vouch for that? And with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, the consequences of the risk could be more significant. The construction of a new reactor in the same place [as the Metsamor plant] is even more dangerous.”
But Areg Galstyan, deputy energy and natural resources minister, said new reactors were built to far higher safety standards than Chernobyl-type nuclear power stations, mentioning that the ecologists had nothing to worry about. The Metsamor power station sits in the Ararat Valley, in the very heart of Armenia, and is surrounded by the towns of Armavir, Echmiadzin and Metsamor. Its first unit started producing power in 1976, and the second in 1980.
