The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is the first and only nuclear power plant in Iran and the Middle East as a whole, which is located near the city of Bushehr. The construction of the facility caused a number of claims against Iran from other states, but at the moment the NPP project has been successfully completed, and the power plant itself has been commissioned.
History of creation
The foundation of the future nuclear power plant was laid in 1975, but after a while the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was frozen. Only after forty-six years did it continue.
The construction contract was signed between Iran and Germany by one of the branches of Siemens Corporation. However, after the US authorities imposed sanctions against Iran, West Germany fully supported its allies and quickly turned off all work begun on the construction of the station.
After signing the agreement on cooperation and the peaceful use of nuclear power plants between the Russian Federation and Iran in 1992, Russian specialists took up construction work. Iranian contractors with the support of Russian scientists and highly qualified installation professionals made it possible to prepare the station for launch already in 2007. At the same time, a new agreement was signed between the two countries, this time on a long-term supply of fuel for nuclear power plants from Novosibirsk. However, due to economic and political problems, the Bushehr launch of the plant was postponed again.
Finally, in 2009, the required amount of fuel was delivered and loaded to the nuclear power plant, and the reactor was checked for safe operation.
Bushehr nuclear power plant launch
After countless checks at the end of summer 2012, the final stage of putting the NPP into operation came. Then the reactor was brought to 100% capacity approved by the project. But at the beginning of the work of the station, there were some failures:
- three months after the launch, the operation of the nuclear power plant was suspended due to the ingress of pump parts into the reactor;
- the accident in February 2013 stopped the reactor due to a breakdown in the turbine generator, but by June the Bushehr nuclear power plant was already functioning again.
NPP value
According to statistics from 2006, Iran consumed a fairly large amount of electricity - 136.2 billion kW / h, while producing about 170 billion kW / h.
Most of the electricity production in Iran (93%) was carried out by thermal power plants operating on oil products and gas. The remaining 7% is the share of hydroelectric power plants. Other methods of generating electricity (alternative) as of 2006 were absent in the country.
Due to the lack of capacity for refining petroleum products, Iran has to import the missing electricity in large volumes. This problem was especially acute in 2007, when, due to a lack of capacity in the country, they even imposed a restriction on the supply of gasoline to individuals. To date, the government has developed a program to increase electricity generation, so the introduction of several units of nuclear power plants will help solve the problem of lack of power once and for all.
Defenders and opponents of the construction of nuclear power plants
Israel and the United States have opposed the construction and launch of a nuclear reactor until now. The main claim of the governments of these countries is that Iran is not completely honest with the world community and wants to use nuclear energy for military purposes. In particular, for the introduction of nuclear weapons in the defense sector of the state.
Suspicions arose because Iran at the time of the start of construction was not a member of the world nuclear safety convention. In connection with these claims, until 2000, journalists often raised the topic of a possible military operation against Iran by the United States of America.
The second unit of the power plant
During the construction of the Bushehr NPP, Russia proved to be a responsible contractor with a large number of highly qualified specialists who successfully used western equipment purchased for the construction that failed in 1975.
Russia has won competitiveness in the nuclear energy market due to high economic ratios, reliability and safety of technical solutions, and the ability to work on credit. These are the main reasons why the Iranian government continues to work with Russia during the construction phase of the second block of the station.
November 2014 was marked by the signing of an agreement between the countries on the construction of the second stage of the reactor. According to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, the new reactor will allow the state to save about 11 barrels of oil per year. For the second unit of the nuclear power plant, the starting point was September 2016.
These days
The construction of the Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant in Iran is currently at the stage of development and approval of all necessary project documentation. More recently - September 10, 2016 - construction has reached a new level. On this day, thanks to the cooperation of the two states, the foundation was laid for the second unit of Bushehr NPP. Photos from the event have already spread all over the world. Rosatom has already committed to the development of the current project, as well as the third unit of the station. The deadline for submitting the developed project documentation is the beginning of the summer of 2019. The cost of development will be 1.78 billion rubles.
Reactors installed on the second and third unit of the station must meet all modern safety requirements. Therefore, the designers have developed modern high-tech installations that take into account the practical experience accumulated by world developers. According to today's documentation, the project is planned to be implemented in ten years. The first launch and commissioning of the Bushehr-2 NPP is due to take place in the fall of 2024, and the verification and commissioning of the Bushehr-3 is planned for the spring of 2026.
