SAFETY & SECURITY | IRAN’S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Iran’s nuclear development
Despite concerted efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear technologies the country is pressing ahead with its development programme, including plans for new nuclear power plants
By Judith Perera
MOHAMMAD REZA KARDAN, HEAD OF the Iran Nuclear Regulatory Authority told NEI during the recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna that Iran, as a developing country, needs energy and that it aims to increase the contribution of nuclear energy. “We are aiming for 20,000 MWe by 2040 and this was approved before the 1979 revolution,” he said. “We need to ensure energy security. We have had a very bad experience relying on other countries. After the revolution all contracts were cancelled. The first lesson we learned was how to rely on ourselves. We learned a lot of lessons after the revolution. No-one would help us – we had to depend on ourselves to ensure our energy security, which is related to our national security.” He added; “As a regulator we have limited resources like
all countries in attracting people to this sector. Another problem is communication with other regulators – it is important to learn from each other but due to sanctions there is very little communication, and we can’t learn from others.”
Kardan’s comments follow those of Iranian Vice
President and head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, who told Iranian media that Iran is producing the world’s highest-quality heavy water and its derivatives, highlighting the significant advancements in Iran’s nuclear technology. He also noted that the Bushehr NPP is among the best performing facilities globally. Earlier in a briefing to members of the Iranian
parliament’s Committee on Plan, Budget & Audit, Eslami said electricity generated at Bushehr in the past 10 years was worth twice the investment the government has made to build the plant. He added that AEOI is also in the midst of a two-year project to find sites for new NPPs, adding that construction of the plants will take 5-7 years. He added that AEOI has extensive plans to further develop uranium mining and production of uranium oxide concentrate (yellowcake) to provide fuel for Bushehr and other NPPs “given that we are under sanctions and [yellowcake] sale to us is banned”.
Above: Iran aims to increase the contribution of nuclear energy to 20,000 MWe by 2040 42 | November 2024 |
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