Armenian nuclear plant aiming for 10-year extension
The Metsamor plant comprises two Russian-built 376 MWe VVER reactors which started operating in 1976 and 1980, respectively. Both units were taken offline in 1988 due to safety concerns regarding seismic vulnerability. Unit 2 was restarted in 1995, and accounts for some 39% of total electricity generation in the country. Unit 1 is now being decommissioned.
In November 2021, it was announced that the service life of unit 2 at the plant had been extended to 2026 after collaboration with Rosatom which saw the unit's emergency cooling system, engine room, turbines and steam generators modernised, and a unique operation was carried out to anneal the reactor pressure vessel. This restored the properties of the vessel metal by 85%, ensuring the possibility of its further operation.
In July 2024 Rosatom said it had installed material samples identical to the reactor vessel in special containers in the reactor vessel during its scheduled maintenance outage. As the nuclear power plant operates, these samples are removed annually so they can be analysed in laboratory conditions to help ensure the safe long-term operation.
The Armenian government, at a cabinet meeting last month, decided that the operation period for the unit would be extended, saying that "within the framework of the operation period extension programme, large-scale modernisation and re-equipment works have been carried out".
Rosatom says that during the most recent shutdown, its Rosatom Service JSC subsidiary performed a wide range of tasks "in particular, the buildings and structures of the Armenian NPP, electrical equipment, and the reloading machine designed for reloading fuel in the reactor were inspected. Pre-project surveys and collection of initial data were carried out for further design. Specialists from Rosatom Service and other industry organisations commissioned a new refrigeration system for the safety systems rooms, and also organised the supply of spare parts to the plant".
Evgeny Salkov, Director General of Rosatom Service, said: "Rosatom continues to carry out preparatory work for the further extension of the service life of the country's only nuclear power plant. They concern, first of all, increasing the safety level of its key systems. At present, we have successfully implemented all the activities planned within the framework of the scheduled preventative maintenance, which prepare the plant for a new ten-year service life."
The Armenian NPP said that as well its specialists and those from Russia, work during the shutdown also involved representatives from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia and Ukraine. It said: "These works are aimed at improving the technical condition of the plant's equipment, strengthening operational safety, and achieving the goals of extending the operational life of the power unit."
In June, officials from the European Union and the USA visited the plant as part of measures to support nuclear safety, following the commissioning of a USD3.4 million full-scope simulator designed to enhance safe operations at the plant.
Rosatom signed an agreement with the management of the Armenian nuclear power plant in January 2022 to look into the possible building of new Russia-designed units on the site of the current plant at Metsamor.
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