The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is situated near the small town of Metsamor, 30 kilometers away from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Its construction was a fundamental part of the Soviet energy infrastructure. In the late 1960s, the need for a power source supporting the rapidly growing Armenian industry became obvious. The main source of energy in previous decades was the cascade of hydropower plants on the river Hrazdan. Unfortunately, due to excessive use of resources of the river Hrazdan - the main water supplier of Lake Sevan - the level of water in the lake decreased by 18 meters, noticeably changing the natural environmental balance of Armenia. In order to restore and maintain the level of the lake, an expensive tunnel was constructed through the mountains to connect the River Arpa with Lake Sevan.

Why it was decided to construct a NPP rather than a new gas or oil pipeline is still unknown. However, there are rumors that this decision was taken due to the principles of the planned socialist economy in the South Caucasus. Basically, the region had to have its own plant, and since Heydar Aliev and Eduard Shevardnadze were more influential in the Politburo of the Communist Party of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Georgia were spared the dubious honor of hosting it.

Construction of the first and second units of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant was completed in 1976 and 1980 respectively. Both used pressurized water reactors of the type BBEP-440/B270 - a type similar to those operating at the Kozlodui NPP of Bulgaria. In addition to the standard design, additional features were incorporated into the construction, which allowed the primary circuit and safety systems to withstand an earthquake having a magnitude of up to 8.0 by the Richter scale. Quite soon, the Metsamor NPP reached one of the highest operation records in the Soviet Union, with 815 megawatts of generating capacity. It provided more than one quarter of Armenia's total power production, and created a noticeable surplus, which was exported to neighboring republics.

The devastating Armenian earthquake of December 7, 1988 ruined the north of the country just in the beginning of Armenia's movement for independence, and in the midst of the ethnic conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. The general opinion of the public was that it was impossible to operate the plant, which was situated in the seismic zone (9.0 by the Richter scale). Both reactors were closed down on January 6, 1989, although the plant was not damaged by the earthquake, and was operating safely.

The events of the following five years developed rather unfavorably for Armenia. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh grew into war, and an economic blockade by Armenia’s neighbors resulted in a catastrophic decrease in energy resources. From 1992 to 1995, Armenia was immersed in darkness; people had electricity one to two hours a day. The only functioning gas pipeline passed through Georgia, and internal political events there often were reflected in the gas supply to Armenia.

However, the closing of the Metsamor NPP entailed other problems that could lead to an environmental catastrophe. The 550-megawatt Sevan-Hrazdan hydroelectric cascade again became the main supplier of electricity to Armenia. As a result, the level of Lake Sevan, which had barely increased by 1.2 meters in the 1980s, came down in less than a year. The water level again dropped below the ecologically safe limit.

But when, in the beginning of 1990s, desperate people began to cut trees for heating their apartments in unprecedented cold winters, it was a real catastrophe. As a result, the forests and groves planted by the efforts of previous generations in the towns almost disappeared. The situation was more complicated in those regions where forest-cutting led to unprecedented soil erosion that altered the fragile balance between these territories and neighboring areas. Even the large-scale tree-planting campaigns of the last few years could restore only a small part of cut forest massifs.

This critical situation forced the government of Armenia to restart the nuclear power station. It was a decision that was very uncharacteristic of the nuclear industry. The 407 megawatt second unit was restarted in April 1993, and since then has been operating under the constant control of international observers. However, the safety of the Metsamor NPP is a political rather than an environmental issue. Almost all neighboring states are concerned about the current condition of the Armenian NPP, and therefore each technical problem is the subject of sharp disputes. Even the assurances of the experts from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) working at the plant cannot prevent surges of articles in the mass media containing apocalyptic forecasts for the future of the region in the event of an accident at the NPP, as it was in Chernobyl. The reactor of the Armenian NPP fundamentally differs from the reactor of the Chernobyl NPP. The concerns of the Georgian media regarding this matter are acceptable, but until now no one has considered the consequences for Armenia, or even for Georgia, which imports electric power from the NPP, of shutting it down. As for Azerbaijan, accusations about contamination of the Azerbaijani Republic with nuclear waste from the Metsamor NPP appear almost every week.

What are the current realities and how can Armenia handle present and future problems? Traditional energy resources (oil, coal and gas) either have not been discovered or do not exist at all on the territory of the republic. Therefore, Armenia depends on imports almost entirely - an unsafe reality due to the present conditions existing in the region. Even Armenia's successful solution of the energy crisis will not solve future problems: the emission of substances resulting in the "greenhouse effect" contradicts the spirit of the Rio Convention, which Armenia signed in order to pledge to minimize harmful impacts on the environment.

Hydropower plants based on water resources have both limited opportunities and capabilities. If some new HPPs are constructed as planned, they will be able to meet the demands of their own district, but not of developing industry. In addition, these HPPs are subject to environmental concerns too, and can provoke negative comments from neighboring states.

Alternative sources like wind, solar, and geothermal energy are considered to be the future sources of energy once they are developed enough to make these options economically feasible. However, during the next two decades, the environmental advantages of alternative sources will not be able to outweigh their high costs. After the earthquake in 1988, Armenia carried out experiments with solar and wind energy like no other state in the region, but the results were rather modest. Thus, if constructed, contemporary solar plants will be able to generate only 10% of the electricity needed in Armenia, and this energy will be much more expensive. In short, world experience shows that at present alternative sources of energy cannot generate the volume of electricity required for industry, but can be used as auxiliary power.

Nuclear energy can generate much more electricity and has a great potential for growth. Statistics show that nuclear power plants provide 70-80% of the energy generated in developed countries. Uranium is easily transportable and environmentally acceptable if properly treated. However, it requires adherence to strict standards of safety. The problem of its utilization is a serious one even in developed countries. Public opinion polls carried out recently indicated that more than 70% of the Armenian population considers nuclear energy to be a major source of energy in the future.

With all these pros and cons, Armenia has to build its energy policy for the coming decades in order to ensure its economic growth. The issue of adequate sources of energy is of vital importance for the well being of Armenia.

The most realistic sources are first, traditional (oil and gas) resources, which will become possible after the development of a regional infrastructure, and second, nuclear power (with improved and safer reactors).

Maintaining such a flexible balance and providing the opportunities both for solving current problems and ensuring development in the future is an urgent issue for Armenia. The understanding and assistance of neighboring countries in overcoming these problems will definitely help Armenia to pay more attention to environmental protection for the welfare of the whole region.