Iran Planning to Develop Small Nuclear Power Plants
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said plans are underway to give a boost to the designing and manufacturing of the small nuclear power plants in the country.
The AEOI has put a series of plans on the agenda, including “an increase in the capacity of designing and building small (nuclear) power plants, in addition to the construction of two 1,000-megawatt plants,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday.
He made the comments in an address to a ceremony in Tehran, held to mark Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day.
Salehi also unveiled plans for the construction of facilities for sea water desalination along with the new nuclear power plants as part of efforts to help agricultural development.
He also made a reference to the diplomatic talks with world powers on Iran’s nuclear energy program, noting that Tehran seeks a comprehensive plan for the fulfillment of its energy demands and increased entitlement to peaceful nuclear energy.
In September 2014, Russian power engineering company Rosatom said its nuclear experts presented a project for the new Iranian nuclear power plant Bushehr-2.
Iran has said it aims to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity from nuclear power.
The country's only nuclear power plant in Bushehr, which produces 1,000 megawatts, became officially operational and was connected to Iran’s national grid in September 2011.
In December 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had announced that the construction of the second nuclear plant in Bushehr will soon kick off and that there will be nuclear reactors in most parts of Bushehr province, which has a long coast on the Persian Gulf.
