Armenia is revising its approach to the construction of a new nuclear power plant. In addition to small modular reactors, the authorities are exploring the possibility of building a plant based on traditional technologies with an installed capacity of 1,000–1,200 MW. This was announced by Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan during discussions on the draft 2027 state budget in parliament.
According to the minister, the final choice of technology will primarily depend on the construction cost and how much the project will affect electricity tariffs. About a year or a year and a half ago, Armenia was mainly focused on small modular reactors, taking into account the novelty of this technology and the needs of the national power grid. Now the government is also considering a more traditional option.
One of the reasons for expanding the options was the prospect of implementing large-scale artificial intelligence projects in the country, which may require significant amounts of electricity. In parallel, the study of the possibilities of using small modular reactors continues. The draft 2027 state budget provides about 800 million drams for the maintenance of the structure responsible for selecting a new nuclear power unit and related expenses.