The Armenian ex-premier, Rector of Russian-Armenian Slavonic University, and Civilitas Foundation honorary board member Armen Darbinyan questioned the absolute necessity of a nuclear power plant (NPP) for Armenia in a public lecture at the University. He underlined that Armenia needs to give a serious thought to local NPP issue especially after the disaster in Japan. “Even Japan, with all of its technological development, failed to prevent that terrible disaster,” he said. “ Armenia, however, insists on having enough capacity to withstand a similar catastrophe. Our source of certainty is unclear, considering the country’s lack of relevant technologies. ”Darbinyan noted that the Armenian NPP’s operating period “cannot by any means be called a period of scientific and technological development in this field. ” He underlined the need for proper technological development in Armenia and offered to consider policy alternatives to the NPP, such as solar and wind power plants, to ensure a safer and more controllable energy environment in Armenia. The discussion also evolved around what lessons Armenia should extract from Japan’s case and the advantages other policy options entail.