Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (Armenian: Հայկական ատոմային էլեկտրակայան), also known as Oktemberyan or Medzamor Nuclear Power Plant, was built during the 1970s, about thirty kilometres west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the town of Metsamor. The plant was constructed with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear reactors. The Metsamor plant is one of just a few remaining nuclear power reactors that were built without primary containment structures. In later years this was remedied by the construction of containment walls. Metsamor NPP lies near earthquake-prone terrain.
The power plant produces about 40% of Armenia's electricity. It was closed due to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. However, economic and transportation blockades by Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey, which created energy shortages in Armenia, caused the Armenian government to decide to reopen the plant in 1993. The Unit 2 reactor was brought back into operation on October 26, 1995. The plant has been operated by Russian company Inter RAO UES since 2003, as part of a five-year term to help pay off Armenia's debts. The resources of the working Armenian nuclear power plant will be exhausted by 2016.
The authorities in Yerevan formally agreed in 2007 to close the Metsamor plant after several years of pressure from the United States and the European Union, which claim it to be inherently unsafe and are promoting to build its own version of the reactor. The E.U. reportedly had classified the VVER 440 Model V230 light water-cooled reactors as the "oldest and least reliable" category of all the 66 Soviet reactors built in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. However, the IAEA has found that the Metsamor NPP has adequate safety and can function beyond its design lifespan.
Armenia is currently discussing the issue of constructing a new nuclear power plant of either 1,000 or 1,200 MW, with a projected cost of $4 billion and $5.2-7.2 billion dollars respectively. Armenian Deputy Minister of Energy and natural Resources Areg Galstyan said that the construction of the new nuclear power plant may start in 2011. The new NPP is expected to be commissioned in 2017.
The Metsamor plant was built to withstand up to a 9-magnitude earthquake, and the reactor is cooled by a second contour, which is a separate system, a separate barrier. However, it does not have a protecting layer, which would absorb exhausted dangerous elements in case of an accident. The new nuclear power plant would also be constructed to have at least a 9-magnitude seismic resistance.
Read more about Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant: Recent Developments, Reactors
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