It seems we may need to dam up a few more rivers.
The nuclear power plant was planned in the 1960s to meet increasing energy needs, especially by the mining industry; the first reactor became operation in 1976 and the second in 1979. Both were shut down in 1989 following the earthquake in 1998, as the power plant is located in a seismic zone. However, Azerbaijani & Turkish embargos meant that Armenia was at a loss for electricity. As a result, the second reactor was restarted in 1995, but only after many upgrades & international oversight. The nuclear plant has been under Russian financial management since 2003. Even though it produces over 40% of Armenia's electricity, it will need to be replaced in 2016, as it was originally designed to have a forty year life.
The nuclear power plant...will not be shut down until the country has alternative energy sources, RA minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan told reporters.
He also added that the conference participants agreed that a new NPP can be an alternative to the currently operating NPP.
The question is, where will Armenia find that 40% to avoid what happened in the early 1990s, namely blackouts, the disappearance of Yerevan's trees for heat, and general misery? Being as small as we are, Armenia is the best place to implement alternative sources of energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and so on. Simply building another dangerous reactor on earthquake-prone land or putting up a few hundred hydroelectric plants simply will not do.
Source: Arka, NTI, and The Guardian
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