Rosatom will prolong the service life of the Armenian NPP for a second time
Rusatom Service JSC (part of Rosatom State Corporation) and Haykakan Atomayin Elektrakayan CJSC signed an agreement on December 15 to extend the operation life of Armenian NPP until 2036. The agreement on the re-extension of the station's resource was reached within the framework of the regular intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia.
The document was signed by Eduard Martirosyan, General Director of Haikakan Atomayin Elektrakayan CJSC, and Yuri Sviridenko, Head of Integrated Projects Department of Rusatom Service JSC.
“Considering Rosatom's unique experience in extending the operation life of Kola and Novovoronezh NPPs, as well as taking into account the positive result of works on the first modernization phase of the Armenian NPP, partnership with the State Corporation under the concluded agreement will allow the plant to operate efficiently and safely until 2036” commented Yuri Sviridenko.
Today the Armenian NPP operation is the most important factor of the country's energy independence. The share of the Armenian NPP in the total electricity generation in the republic is about 30%. Nuclear power is an environmentally friendly source of generation, thus, electricity generation at the Armenian NPP allows not to emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The Armenian government approached Rosatom in 2014 to modernize and extend the NPP operation life. The modernization started in 2015 and the work was completed in 2021. Importantly, most of the works were carried out without stopping the power plant. There were made careful calculations with the involvement of specialized Russian organizations and institutes, and a huge amount of equipment was replaced at the station. The unit's emergency cooling system, turbine halls, turbines, automated control systems were modernized, heat treatment of the reactor vessel - restoration annealing- was performed, and a large number of repairs were carried out. The capacity of the power unit was increased from 380-390 MW to 440 MW.
The current operation life of the Armenian NPP ends in 2026; the relevant license was issued by the State Committee for Nuclear Safety Regulation under the Government of the Republic of Armenia in 2021.
Russia develops active cooperation with friendly states. The realization of major joint energy projects continues. Rosatom and its divisions take an active part in this work.
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Rusatom Service JSC is part of the Electric Power Division of the Rosatom State Corporation. The company provides services to energy facilities in various sectors of the energy industry.
Rusatom Service JSC implemented/implements projects for 48 Russian-designed NPP power units (operating and under construction) in 13 foreign countries. Moreover, the company holds leading positions in the markets of China, Bulgaria and Armenia and is a general contractor for lifetime extension,planned preventive maintenance and VVER NPP equipment modernization. At the end of 2022, Rusatom Service JSC formed a portfolio of orders worth about 3 billion US dollars in foreign markets.
The references of Rusatom Service JSC include integrated projects for lifetime extension, maintenance and repair, supply of equipment and spares, nuclear infrastructure, consulting services and training, industrial simulators.
Since 2022, the company has been actively developing the areas of renewable energy - small hydropower, biogas reactors, landfill gas. The BOO (build-own-operate) model is implemented as a priority. Rusatom Service JSC references in the renewable energy sector include the design of a cascade of hydroelectric power plants in Bulgaria, the supply of equipment for the Segozerskaya HPP in Karelia. In the near future the company also plans to become a key business player in the construction of high capacity bioreactors, implementing the development strategy of Rosatom State Corporation using green energy.
As part of the Robotics, the company offers services for the design and manufacture of robotic systems and other non-standard equipment for nuclear industry enterprises and beyond.
Engineering and Technology Center GET JSC (part of Rusatom Service JSC) is a leader in the simulation engineering and mathematical modeling for NPP and TPP. The company’s scope of activities includes testing of process algorithms of the designed power units, research of human-machine interface, development of support systems for NPP operating personnel in emergencies.
