A significant event in the history of the partnership between Russia and Iran took place on Sunday: the construction of the second power unit of Bushehr NPP began on Iranian soil with the participation of Russian specialists.
This was reported by the Iranian agency Mehr.
In a festive atmosphere, the official construction of the second unit of Bushehr NPP was launched by the Vice President of Iran, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi and the first deputy general director of the state corporation Rosatom Alexander Lokshin.
The construction of the Bushehr nuclear power units is considered the largest Russian-Iranian project. In November 2014, Russia and Iran signed a contract for the construction of the second and third power units of Bushehr NPP (Bushehr-2 project) on a turnkey basis. The ceremony for the launch of the Bushehr-2 project took place on September 10, 2016. The reactors of the Russian VVER-1000 project, which meet the highest safety requirements, will operate at blocks No. 2 and 3. The total capacity of the two new units is 2.1 thousand MW. The implementation of the Bushehr-2 project is expected to take 10 years.
The first unit of Bushehr NPP with a VVER-1000 reactor was connected to the Iranian national power system in September 2011. In April 2016, the block was finally transferred to Iran in operation, this was the official completion of its construction project. At the same time, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, as part of its obligations, continues to service the unit and provide it with nuclear fuel.
During operation, Unit No. 1 of Bushehr NPP delivered several tens of billions of kilowatt-hours of electricity to Iran’s energy system and allowed Iran to prevent the release of several tens of millions of tons of greenhouse gases.
Bushehr NPP is a unique facility, which has no analogues in the world. The construction of this first nuclear power plant in the Middle East was launched in 1974 by the German concern Kraftwerk Union AG (Siemens / KWU). In 1980, the German government joined the US sanctions imposed against Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and construction was discontinued.
Russia was the only one who agreed to help Iran complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant. In August 1992, the governments of both countries signed an agreement on the construction of this nuclear power plant, and in January 1995 a contract was signed to complete the construction of the first power unit of the station. In difficult climatic conditions, Russian specialists managed to “fit” domestic equipment into the construction part, made according to the German project, and, in addition, apply about 12 thousand tons of German equipment.