“Nuclear energy stands as a cornerstone in our strategy, ensuring both the energy security of our nation and the mitigation of climate change,” he said in a speech at the Nuclear Energy Summit held in Brussels.
Metsamor’s sole functioning reactor, which generates roughly a third of Armenia’s electricity, went into service in 1980 and was due to be decommissioned by 2017. The country’s former government extended the 420-megawatt reactor’s operations by ten years, until 2026, despite Western concerns about its safety.
Pashinian’s government approved another ten year extension before contracting last December a Russian company to carry out further safety upgrades at the plant. The government will pay the company controlled by Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear agency up to $65 million for that purpose.
The plant’s first major modernization was essentially completed by Russian and Armenian specialists in 2021. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, praised that upgrade when he visited Armenia and inspected Metsamor in October 2022.
Russia also remains Armenia’s sole supplier of nuclear fuel. Pashinian did not mention the Russian role in Metsamor in his speech at the summit attended by leaders of 34 mostly Western countries keen to revive nuclear energy. He insisted that Armenia is “operating the power plant in line with IAEA safety standards.”
“The absence of any nuclear or radiation safety incidents throughout the history of our plant's operation speaks volumes about our unwavering dedication to this cause,” he said.
In a joint statement, the participants of the first-ever summit pledged “to work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy by taking measures such as enabling conditions to support and competitively finance the lifetime extension of existing nuclear reactors, the construction of new nuclear power plants and the early deployment of advanced reactors.”