US Assessing Feasibility Of Small Modular Reactors In Armenia - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2023) The United States is assessing the feasibility of building small modular reactors in a number of countries, including in Armenia, to promote greater energy independence from Russia and China, US State Department Coordinator of US Assistance to Europe and Eurasia Maria Longi said on Tuesday.

"(I)n a number of countries, including Armenia, we are assessing the feasibility of small modular nuclear reactors, built with US technology that could facilitate greater energy independence from both Russia and the PRC (the People's Republic of China)," Longi told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

Earlier in May, the United States launched in Bucharest, Romania its first small modular reactor control room simulator abroad to train the next generation of civil nuclear workers and lay the groundwork for future nuclear deployments in Europe.

In November 2021, the State Department announced a multi-billion Dollar deal with Romania to begin replacing seven of the country's coal power plants with small modular reactor (SMR) technology.

SMRs are nuclear fission reactors that are significantly smaller than traditional nuclear reactors and can be built at one location and then transferred to another. In 2018, the International Atomic Energy Agency said SMRs are among the most promising emerging nuclear power technologies.�