Russia’s Atomstroyexport chief expresses content about nuclear coop. with Iran

According To Iran News, The President of ASE Group of Companies of the Russian Federation’s power equipment and service exporter, Atomstroyexport, Alexander Lokshin expressed content about Iran-Russia nuclear cooperation and his company’s capability of accomplishing construction of the first unit of Bushehr power plant on time.

“The first unit of Bushehr power plant has generated above 40 billion kilowatts of electricity, saving 40 million cubic meters of oxigen,” Lokshin said during the ceremony to start laying the concrete foundations of the second unit of Bushehr nuclear power plant on Sunday.

He hoped that the second unit of the plant will be completed for inauguration without facing any specific difficulties and also on time to improve the welfare of the Iranian nation.

Making remarks at the same event, Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced that Iran will produce up to 3,000 megawatts of nuclear-generated electricity by 2027, which will avert emission of 21 million tons of pollutant gases.

The AEOI chief added that Bushehr plant will help the country save $660 million per year.

Describing that each nuclear power plant can stay online for about 60 years and more, Salehi added that each plant costs $5 billion and can return its initial construction costs in six years after becoming opeartional.

The Iranian official also informed that Bushehr plant, which is safe and secure, can provide local residents with 200,000 to 400,000 cubic meters of potable water in future.

As previously reported, the second unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is scheduled to come on stream in 6 years, while the third unit will be finished in 8 years.

The 2nd and 3rd units of the Bushehr plant will increase the share of nuclear power in Iran’s electricity supply to amounts well beyond the current 2.7 percent.

In November 2014, the Nuclear Power Production and Development Company of Iran (NPPD) and Russia’s Atomstroiexport signed two contracts to work on parts of the 2nd and 3rd units.

A total of $10 billion have been allocated for the construction of the two units.

The capacity of the second phase is expected to stand above 1,000 megawatts (MW). The total capacity of the two units of WWER-1,000 (Water-Water Energetic Reactor) will be 2,100 megawatts.