Iran in talks with Russia over construction of 2 new atomic power plants

Iran and Russia are in talks over the construction of two new atomic power plants in Southern Iran, head of the parliament's energy commission announced on Tuesday. “Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his (recent) visit to Bushehr province announced that the second atomic power plant will soon be built in this province …,” Head of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Committee Jalil Jafari Boneh Khalkhal told FNA today. He reiterated that the second and third atomic power plants will be similar to the first one, but with higher safety standards. On Saturday, President Rouhani announced that Iran has plans to generate more electricity through the nuclear energy in the coming years by building a second nuclear power plant in Bushehr. “Our first nuclear power plant is active in the (Bushehr) province which will develop, God willing,” Rouhani said, addressing provincial managers and officials of Bushehr province on Saturday night. The Islamic Republic signed the Bushehr contract with Russia in 1995 and the nuclear power plant reached its full capacity by August 2012. It is located about 18 kilometers South of the provincial capital. “Based on our estimates, the second nuclear power plant will be built in the same province and I hope that we can use the facilities of this province,” Rouhani added. In relevant remarks in November, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi 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. “We are not obliged to introduce to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the nuclear facilities that we are to build in the future and only 180 days before entry of nuclear substances there, we will inform the IAEA of them,” Salehi said. 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.