The Armenian NPP consists of two WWER-440/270 units. Unit 1 of the ANPP was commissioned in 1976 and Unit 2 was commissioned in 1980. The installed power of the units is 407,5MWe, the design service life is 30 years.

Following the destructive Spitak earthquake Units 1 and 2 were shutdown in February and March, 1989, in compliance with Decision of the USSR Council of Ministers.

After the USSR collapse the subsequent political cataclysms in 1990-1993 led to a blockade of Armenia and, as a result, to a severe energy crisis in the republic.

The established situation brought about the only acceptable decision, i.e. the Armenian NPP restart.

In 1993 the Government of Armenia made a decision on restart of the ANPP Unit 2.

Following the completion of repair and safety upgrading activities Unit 2 was connected to the power grid in November 1995.

Unit 1 is in a long-term shutdown condition. Restart of the unit is not expected.

After the restart of the Armenian NPP Unit 2 and following the severe energy crisis Armenia proceeded with an around-the-clock power supply schedule. In addition, with restart of operation quite a high energy independence from the imported fuel types was achieved in the republic.

The share of the Armenian NPP in the total electricity production in the republic is about 40%.

The nuclear energy is one of the main power sources in Armenia and it plays a key role in the national power supply.

On December 7, 1988 a destructive earthquake occurred in the region of Spitak town (83 km from the ANPP), Armenia. During the earthquake the Armenian NPP units remained in nominal power operation (the design provides for reactor trip due to seismic protection signal at seismic effect above 6 points). Following the earthquake the plant was inspected by the commission and they didn’t find any damages of civil structures, equipment and systems of the NPP related to the seismic impacts during the earthquake. The conclusion was that the Armenian NPP withstood the earthquake of magnitude 5.5 (according to MSK 64 scale).

 The analysis of buildings, structures, systems and equipment behaviour during the earthquake and their condition after the earthquake which was performed by the commission  in the course of their inspection and the suggestions developed by the commission for enhancement of seismic stability, reliability and safety proved the possibility of the ANPP further operation.

In the period of preparation for the ANPP restart in 1993-1995 a set of activities was performed for additional study of seismic conditions of the plant site in order to finally solve all the issues and justify the possibility of restart and further operation of the NPP.

The whole work process and the final report were reviewed and discussed with the IAEA experts.

One of the main results of the implemented studies was the proof of the fact that the ANPP was erected on a whole (non-destructed) basalt block, i.e., the absence of a tectonically active fault under the ANPP site was proved.

Political Events, Shutdown of the Armenian NPP and Restart of Unit 2 Following More than 6,5 Years of Shutdown

The late eighties in the former USSR history remains as an eventful political period.

The Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to shut down the ANPP by Resolution №15 dated 06.01.89 “On shutdown of the ANPP units and measures on ensuring power supply to the republics of Transcaucasia”. In compliance with the decision Unit 1 was shutdown on February 25, 1989 and Unit 2 on March 18, 1989.

The political events of the early nineties resulted in a grave situation in power supply of the republic. Frequent explosions of the gas pipeline feeding Armenia and severe winters exacerbated the situation up to a disastrous condition.

Before adopting the resolution on Unit 2 restart the Government invited a lot of competent organizations for consultations and recommendations.

The “Concept of the ANPP units restart” and the “List of the ANPP Unit 2 safety enhancement measures” were developed which were approved by the RA Government. The “Conceptual plan of preparatory activities for the ANPP units restart”, “Program for the ANPP survey” and other documents were developed in order to organize Unit 2 recovery activities.

Staffing of operating personnel, revision of operational documentation, functional tests of systems and equipment were implemented simultaneously with the repair and recovery activities.

In November, 1995 the ANPP Unit 2 was restarted after more than 6,5 years of shutdown.

Currently activities aimed at justification and extension of the service life till 2026 are being implemented.

Important events in the plant history

1. Reaching the Minimum Controllable Power Level for the first time:

First MCPL for Unit 2 after restart:

31.10.95

2. First connection to the grid:

First connection to the grid after Unit 2 restart:

05.11.95

3. Start of commercial operation:

Unit 2 after restart:

05.11.95

The power generation in 2018 constitutes more than 36% of the total power generation in the republic.

The nuclear energy share in the total electricity generation in Armenia is provided in Fig. 1.1-1.

Fig. 1.1-1.          The ANPP share in power generation in Armenia

The location of the plant

The ANPP site is situated in the western part of the Ararat valley, 10km north-east from Armavir regional center, 28km west from Yerevan city, 16km from the border with Turkey.

Fig. 1.1-2: Location of the Armenian NPP

Fig. 1.1-3: Location of the Armenian NPP - satellite view

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