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ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TO RESUME OPERATION ON FRIDAY EVENING
/ARKA/
OCTOBER 27, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, October 27. / ARKA /. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in
Metsamor will resume operation on Friday evening and join the national
power grid after a planned repair, the facility's chief engineer,
Movses Vardanyan, told reporters today. The NPP was brought to a halt
for repair on September 11 that was scheduled to last 46 days.
"The process of restarting the rector was launched on 25 October, but
after the repair we need a full check of the equipment. On Tuesday,
we began the check and restarting work", said Vartanian.
According to him, after 1-2 hours the nuclear power plants will reach
its minimum capacity. "But even in these conditions, there is the
need to verify the characteristics of the structures of the active
zones of the rector. After that we will join the power grid ", he said.
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant is located some 30 kilometers
west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following
a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230
light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities
said they will build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging
facility. The new plant 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 by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost at as much
as $5 billion. Under a 2003 agreement Armenian nuclear power plant's
financial flows are managed by Russian Inter RAO UES, owned by Russian
state-run Rosatom corporation.
The agreement expires in 2013. In 2010 Russia and Armenia signed an
agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy sphere whereby Russia
committed to assume 20% of all expenses. The Armenian government
will cover another 20% and the remaining part is supposed to come
from investors.
From: A. Papazian
/ARKA/
OCTOBER 27, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, October 27. / ARKA /. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in
Metsamor will resume operation on Friday evening and join the national
power grid after a planned repair, the facility's chief engineer,
Movses Vardanyan, told reporters today. The NPP was brought to a halt
for repair on September 11 that was scheduled to last 46 days.
"The process of restarting the rector was launched on 25 October, but
after the repair we need a full check of the equipment. On Tuesday,
we began the check and restarting work", said Vartanian.
According to him, after 1-2 hours the nuclear power plants will reach
its minimum capacity. "But even in these conditions, there is the
need to verify the characteristics of the structures of the active
zones of the rector. After that we will join the power grid ", he said.
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant is located some 30 kilometers
west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following
a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230
light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities
said they will build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging
facility. The new plant 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 by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost at as much
as $5 billion. Under a 2003 agreement Armenian nuclear power plant's
financial flows are managed by Russian Inter RAO UES, owned by Russian
state-run Rosatom corporation.
The agreement expires in 2013. In 2010 Russia and Armenia signed an
agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy sphere whereby Russia
committed to assume 20% of all expenses. The Armenian government
will cover another 20% and the remaining part is supposed to come
from investors.
From: A. Papazian