Russia to Help Iran Build 2nd N. Power Plant Next Year

ILNA: Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said that Russia will cooperate with Iran in the construction of its second nuclear power plant in the early months of 2014.

“We hope to see the construction of the country’s second nuclear power station start at the beginning of the (Iranian calendar) year 1393 (starting March 21, 2014) by the Russians,” said Salehi in a televised interview.

Under a protocol signed between Tehran and Moscow, said Salehi, power plants with a capacity of up to 4,000 megawatts could be constructed in Iran.

Earlier this week, Salehi had said most of Iran’s new power plants will be built near the country’s coasts in the South and the North.

Salehi said a majority of Iran’s new nuclear facilities will be on the Southern coasts of the Persian Gulf and Northern coasts of the Caspian Sea while another part would be in Central Iran.

“The power plants should have access to a huge source of water. The new power plants will be supported by desalinations, mainly located in Southern parts of the country,” the top Iranian nuclear official pointed out.

Also in October, Salehi announced that Iran has plans to generate more electricity through the nuclear energy in the coming years.

“We are considering construction of power plants along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea as well as the Central parts of Iran, but priority is given to the Persian Gulf coasts because we want to pave the way for (construction of) water desalination facilities to supply drinking water for the Southern provinces of Iran,” Salehi told reporters at the time.

Iranian officials say the Persian Gulf country needs enough atomic reactors to generate a total of 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020.

Deputy Head of AEOI Mohammad Ahmadian announced in mid-September 2012 that Iran has identified 34 potential sites for building additional nuclear power plants.