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ANKARA: Armenia to extend life of Metsamor nuclear plant until 2026

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  • ANKARA: Armenia to extend life of Metsamor nuclear plant until 2026

    Journal of Turkish Weekly
    Sept 14 2013

    Armenia to extend life of ageing Metsamor nuclear plant until 2026

    14 September 2013


    Armenia said Sept. 13 it would extend the life of its ageing nuclear
    power plant, despite safety concerns over the Soviet-era facility in
    an active seismic zone.

    "The atomic power station will operate until 2026," Armenia's energy
    minister Armen Movsisyan told journalists. Earlier this month,
    President Serzh Sarkisian reached an agreement with Russian state
    nuclear agency Rosatom to help keep the plant running beyond its
    original closing date of 2016. Last year, Armenia had postponed the
    plant's closure until 2020.

    The European Union has repeatedly called for the plant to be closed
    down, arguing that it poses a threat to the region.

    Armenian authorities say that the plant has undergone considerable
    renovations over the past decade and has been passed fit by the
    International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Built in the 1970s, the Metsamor plant is located in one of the most
    earthquake-prone regions on the planet, some 30 kilometres (19 miles)
    west of Yerevan. The facility - which provides the tiny Caucasus
    nation with around 40 percent of its power - was closed for around
    seven years following a devastating earthquake in 1988.

    Movsisyan said that a new facility would be built over the next decade
    to eventually replace the Metsamor plant.

    14 September 2013

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