Delegation from Armenia visited Kola NPP to study the experience of re-extending the lifetime of nuclear power plants
Delegation from Armenia headed by Akob Vardanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, arrived on a business trip to the Russian Federation. The delegation also comprised Eduard Martirosyan, Director General of Armenian NPP and Movses Vardanyan, First Deputy Director General of HAEK CJSC, Director of Armenian NPP. As part of the trip, members of Armenian delegation visited Kola NPP (Murmansk Oblast), met with OKB GIDROPRESS management and held a number of bilateral meetings. “Armenian NPP is the key to our security and economic development of Armenia. Emphasizing the importance of nuclear power plant operation for the country, we are already taking steps to further develop the industry and intend to extend the NPP operation until at least 2036. The main purpose of the trip to the Russian Federation was to learn from the experience of re-extending the lifetime of Kola NPP, the project of which is currently being studied in detail in Armenia,” said Akob Vardanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia. Armenian specialists together with the specialists of Kola NPP, Rosenergoatom Concern and Rusatom Service JSC also discussed the implementation of measures under the lifetime re-extension of ANPP Power Unit No.2. Nikita Konstantinov, Rosenergoatom Concern (is part of Rosatom SC and is the operator of all Russian NPPs) Director for Business Development commented on Armenian NPP lifetime extension works: “This is a long-term project that has lasted for more than 5 years. This is a big, significant programme for us, which once again demonstrates that Rosenergoatom Concern, being one of the largest nuclear power companies in the world, can conduct the entire set of works on lifetime extension at any power unit of Soviet or Russian design both in Russia (on the example of Kola NPP) and abroad. Kola NPP employees, considering the experience gained, take an active part both in the work directly on the site and providing expert assistance and advice to Concern subsidiaries engaged in the Armenian project.” Upgrade works at Armenian NPP are arranged by Rusatom Service JSC, member of the electric power division of the Rosatom State Corporation. “Over the period of cooperation, a large-scale programme to extend the ANPP lifetime has been implemented in the amount of about $200 mln, several sets of new equipment installed in a short time have been supplied. The task we are implementing this year is reactor vessel annealing, after which its physical and mechanical properties will be restored, and Armenian NPP can be still operated after 2026. In this regard, Armenian colleagues were interested in the experience of Kola NPP specialists who had already carried out such a complex process operation. We hope that by the end of 2021 Armenia will have more efficient NPP, and its safety will be close to world standards,” noted Evgeny Salkov, Director General of Rusatom Service JSC. A Russian-Armenian work group is currently being created, which will comprise technical specialists of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, Armenian NPP, ARMATOM CJSC, Scientific and Engineering Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, Nuclear Safety Committee; on the Russian side - specialists of key Russian enterprises working in the field of NPP lifetime extension - Rusatom Service JSC, Atomenergoproekt JSC, OKB Gidropress, NRC Kurchatov Institute and Rosenergoatom Concern JSC. A concept of extending Armenian NPP lifetime for its operation after 2026 will be developed. “A large scope of various projects to improve safety have been implemented at Kola NPP. Final upgrade works are currently take place at Armenian NPP to extend its lifetime until 2026. But to date, preliminary calculations have already been made, according to which the NPP can be operated until 2036, and the experience of Kola NPP lifetime re-extension will be very useful to Armenian nuclear experts. Russian specialists have always helped us in difficult times - during the construction of NPP and restart of Power Unit No.2, now in extending its lifetime, as our common goal is to maximize safety, reliability and operational efficiency of nuclear power plants,” noted Eduard Martirosyan, Director General of Armenian NPP.
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Rusatom Service JSC is part of the electric power division of the Rosatom State Corporation. The company provides full range of services and supplies required for maintenance and repair for the foreign nuclear power plants that operate VVER-type reactors. The company is present in almost every country with operating VVER NPP outside Russia. Rusatom Service JSC holds leading market positions in China, Iran, Bulgaria and Armenia and acts as a general contractor for lifetime extension, planned preventive maintenance and VVER NPP equipment upgrade. www.rusatomservice.ru