Metsamor nuclear plant to run until at least 2035 as a large new reactor is back on the table
- Published
- Place
- Metsamor, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant will remain in the country’s energy system until at least 2035, in line with international safety requirements, Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Minister Davit Khudatyan said on 9 November. He referred to his recent meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on the reactor’s life-extension programme. For a future plant, Yerevan is studying several offers, including one from Russia, covering either small modular reactors or a plant using conventional technology. Their costs differ “by several billion dollars”, which will weigh on tariffs, he noted. With demand rising, partly because of data centres, “an electricity surplus is impossible”, he said. “The decision will not be political, but economic,” he stressed.
Analysis
Until now the government had favoured a small modular reactor: in May 2026 Nikol Pashinyan said the growth of solar power made a 1,000-megawatt unit unnecessary. Expected growth in consumption, driven by artificial intelligence, reopens the option of a conventional reactor of 1,000 to 1,200 megawatts. Metsamor’s single operating reactor, of just over 400 megawatts, produced nearly 22% of Armenia’s electricity in 2025. Ankara and Baku regularly call for its closure.
Possible consequences
A decision on the new plant’s technology had been expected in 2027, according to the timetable previously given by the minister.
