On November 16, the results of the program to extend the term of operation of the second power unit of the ANPP were summed up during the visit of RA Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, General Director of Rosatom State Corporation Alexey Likhachev and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP).
Within the framework of the modernization program, works have been carried out to increase the safety of the second power unit of the ANPP since 2016, to inspect and replace the equipment. According to the press release disseminated by RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the capacity of the power unit has increased by 15% with the same cost of nuclear fuel as a result of the project. One of the most important measures taken is the vibration of the reactor body, which allowed to restore the metal properties by 85%.
Reminder: the first power unit of the ANPP was put into industrial operation in 1976, and the second in 1980. The installed capacity of the power units is 407.5 MW, the design service life is 30 years. By the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, after the devastating earthquake in Spitak, the operation of №1 and №2 power units was stopped in February-March 1989. In November 1995, the second power unit was connected to the power system. The term of operation of the second power unit of the ANPP expired in 2016, but the Armenian authorities decided to extend the term of operation of the unit, considering the risk of a serious shortage of base capacity due to the closure of the plant.
The installations, systems and equipment of the first power unit of the ANPP, which were suitable for further operation, were used for reliable and safe operation of the second power unit.
In 2015, Armenia signed a $ 270 million loan and $ 30 million grant agreement with Russia to extend the term of the ANPP's second power unit. In June 2020, RA Government decided to refuse the remaining part of the Russian loan 63 grant from the state budget of the Republic of Armenia in the amount of 63 billion 200 million AMD to the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant CJSC to finance the extension of the second power unit of the ANPP.
November 22, 2021 at 10:46