Negotiations for Building a New Nuclear Power Plant: Pashinyan

Our nuclear power plant has a deadline after which we cannot operate it, and now we are actively negotiating with several partners about constructing a new nuclear power plant. This was stated today by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a question and answer session in the National Assembly while addressing Armenia's plans to develop its nuclear capabilities.

He mentioned that negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, the United States, and third countries on this matter. “We are currently examining which of these options is more economically advantageous for us. Because there is a certain investment threshold and so on. Energy specialists are conducting very thorough analyses of what capacity we need,” Pashinyan added.

According to Pashinyan, a delegation from Armenia is expected to travel to the United States soon to learn more about the possibilities of modular-type electric nuclear power plants on-site. “We can build one module, then a second, let’s say 7 MWt, whereas our current nuclear power plant is 400 MWt. We could construct it in pieces of 70 MWt, increasing its capacity as much as possible later on,” he stated.

“Other proposals are somewhat complicated for us because they suggest building a 1000 MWt power plant all at once. Our specialists say that there are still questions regarding whether a 1000 MWt plant can be accommodated within our energy system. Of course, there are also questions regarding the modular system. And we need to consider which option is more economically beneficial for us,” the Prime Minister noted.