According to the official website of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, the international forum “World Atomic Week” was held in Moscow from September 25 to 26. An Armenian delegation led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the event. The delegation also included Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Russian Federation Gurgen Arsenyan, Acting Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee Khachatur Khachikyan, and General Director of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant CJSC Eduard Martirosyan.
It was reported that during the consultations chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the strategic development directions of Armenia’s energy sector were discussed. Particular attention was given to proposals for the construction of a new nuclear power unit, including technical, financial, and safety aspects.
However, uncertainty remains regarding the selection of a strategic partner for the new nuclear power plant. Depending on the outcomes of high-level meetings, the balance appears to shift either toward the United States - favoring small modular reactors of approximately 300 MW - or toward Russia, which has proposed building a new 1,200 MW power unit or small modular reactors.
Armenia must act swiftly and finally choose a partner to address its energy challenges. Currently, Armenia is prepared to sell excess electricity to neighboring countries, but high-tech projects may soon become a reality, requiring additional energy capacity.
Notably, the construction of an artificial intelligence (AI) data center is on the government’s agenda. The project, which Armenia plans to implement in partnership with Firebird and NVIDIA, will require significant power resources - an additional capacity of around 100 MW, or possibly more.
October 23, 2025 at 17:51