BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. Cooperation between Iran and Russia in various nuclear fields will be expanded, including the production of small modular reactors (SMRs) and 1,250-megawatt reactors, Trend reports.
The decision was made during a meeting in Tehran between Iran’s Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, and Nikolay Spasski, Deputy Director for International Affairs at Russia’s Rosatom.
During Eslami’s visit to Russia last week, a cooperation agreement was signed between the two countries on small modular reactors (SMRs), the Iran-Hormuz Nuclear Power Plants, and the construction of four 1,250-megawatt reactors worth $25 billion. These projects are considered to have special economic and strategic significance within the framework of bilateral cooperation.
During the Tehran visit of the delegation led by Rosatom’s Deputy Director for International Affairs, discussions were held on further developing cooperation. It was noted that the new agreements create conditions to enhance joint collaboration.
Both sides emphasized the importance of accelerating the implementation of joint projects while reviewing the current process of nuclear cooperation.
Additionally, a visit to Iran by Aleksey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom, has been scheduled in the near future. During this visit, attention will focus not only on implementing the agreements but also on the construction of Units 2 and 3 of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Unit 1 of Iran’s Bushehr NPP began operating in 2011. In 2013, the operation of the unit was handed over by Rosatom to the Iranian company. Since 2013, the unit has produced a maximum of 1,000 megawatts of electricity. Over the past 10 years, electricity production at Bushehr NPP has exceeded 65 billion kilowatt-hours.
Construction of Units 2 and 3 at Bushehr NPP began in 2017 on a 50-hectare site. Once operational, each unit will have a potential output of 1,057 megawatts of electricity. Commissioning these two units is expected to save 10 million barrels of crude oil or 1.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually and prevent the release of 7 million tons of pollutant gases into the environment.