Speaking about the prospects of Armenian nuclear energy, skeptics note the inexpediency of renovating the current nuclear power plant due to its satisfactory condition, as well as problems during its operation, which cannot be completely eliminated every year. Proponents of modernization insist that closing a nuclear power plant is tantamount to Armenia’s energy suicide, therefore they convince them of the need to improve the station and build new more modern power units that will ensure energy security for the republic and strengthen Armenia’s position among countries that have managed to tame the “peaceful atom”.
As far back as the mid-2000s, the European Union put pressure on Armenia demanding to close the nuclear power plant. Europe is concerned about the state of the Armenian reactor, since the only working power unit No. 2 has long reached its design life and needs to be modernized. The EU does not conceal its concern, since since the Chernobyl disaster it has not been credible with Soviet water and water energy rectors. The Armenian nuclear power plant operates the classic Soviet VVER-440 reactor, which runs on hazardous uranium dioxide.
It was planned that by 2016 the current nuclear power plant will close, and by 2018 the construction of a new station will be completed, which will not only replace the existing nuclear power plant, but will also be more powerful. However, the financial situation of Armenia made adjustments, and it was decided to extend the operation of the NPP until 2026. In 2018, Europeans argued that Armenia should pay attention to the development of alternative energy sources.
Today, the preservation of the atomic potential of Armenia is, among other things, of an ideological nature. The country remains in the blockade caused by the unresolved Karabakh conflict. The mid-1990s is called “cold and dark” times in Armenia, therefore any talk about the threat of a nuclear catastrophe is politicized and perceived by the public as a desire to weaken the state’s position. During the years of the Karabakh conflict, fears of an escalation of new bloodshed between neighbors, the mobilization idea was so tightly embedded in the public consciousness that it supports any decisions of the government that refuses to cooperate with the EU, believing that such interaction will certainly undermine the sovereignty of Armenia.
The presence of nuclear power plants is perceived as an issue related to the country's prestige. It is important for Armenia to emphasize the nuclear status of the state. This allows us to raise common energy issues with neighboring Iran, (the Bushehr nuclear power plant), although it does not consider nuclear cooperation with Armenia as promising.
Armenia’s western neighbor, Turkey, is also developing in this direction, and since 2018 has been building Akkuyu NPP. For these reasons alone, the issue of the Armenian NPP is defined as an axiom of the development strategy of the energy sector of the republic. As usual, finances intervene in the matter, since Armenia cannot afford the development and maintenance of modern alternative methods of energy production (wind generators, thermal and solar energy). Yerevan pays attention to every line of its economic spending, as it suffers from a chronic shortage of finances and resources. Nuclear power plants for Armenia are, first of all, a source of guaranteed capacity. This quality is inherent only to nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power stations.
The change of power in the country did not affect the intention to exploit nuclear energy. The construction of a new nuclear power unit is one of the long-term goals of the government, which means that the new authorities still have a lot of work to raise funds, primarily diasporal ones, to extend the maximum allowable operating life of nuclear power plants. What exactly will happen to the station is not yet clear, since even the project management for extending the life of nuclear power plants, which is supervised by their Russian experts, cannot say what to expect, since the principles of modernization have not yet been adopted and agreed upon.
