Metsamor nuke plant is growing into a serious problem for security in the South Caucasus.
The scholar at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy Richard Russo said the outdated Metsamor nuke plant in Armenia is growing into a serious problem for security in the South Caucasus. His concerns are linked to the complicated situation in the wake of the tragedy at Japan’s Fukushima, GHN reminds. Additionally, Armenian nuclear plant is located in a politically unstable region, Russo writes in a note, published in Foreign Policy Journal.
He believes that to understand the threat posed by the Metsamor nuke plant, it is necessary to look back into history that has seen several failures of the deterred action.
“After the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Armenia’s city of Spitak in 1988 by Richter scale that claimed more than 25,000 lives, Soviet officials decided to shut down the plant”, the scholar writes. But it was restarted in seven years.
Having no sea outlet, Armenia sees no alternative to nuclear power in the near future. The Metsamor nuke plant’s reactor secures some 40% of demand in Armenian electric power, the scholar says. Rosso added that the attempts to replace it failed while the search of alternative energy sources or attempts to set up a new reactor with modern operation elements have been ineffective so far. However, something must be done about it, Rosso said.
In October 2008, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Aret Galstyan said that construction of a new nuke plant is to start in 2011.
It is hoped to be commissioned in 2017, the Azerbaijani scholar said.
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