Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami has said Iran is building a 2,000 MWe NPP of indigenous design in Khuzestan province. The Karun NPP in Darkhovin District in Khuzestan’s Shadegan County will generate 300 MWe in the preliminary phase. Other phases will follow.

"Our enemies tried to break our will using sanctions and refused to cooperate with in the construction of an NPP for many years," he stated, noting that sanctions began in 1979. However, AEOI developed the project by relying on domestic capabilities. Eslami

Noted AEOI recently decided to pursue the construction of a 360 MWe NPP and has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its plans. Eslami formally inaugurated the construction of Karun NPP in December.

Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran had signed a $2bn contract with France’s Framatome to build two pressurised water reactors (PWRs) at Darkhovin. However, France subsequently withdrew from the project and completed components of the plant remained in France. Then in 1992 former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani agreed a plan with China, despite US objections, to buy two 300 MWe reactors for Darkhovin, but the Chinese also subsequently withdrew from the project under pressure from Washington. Iran also signed up Zurich-based ABB as a consultant, but the Swiss-Swedish company similarly withdrew several times before finally quitting in 2018 in face of US sanctions.

Iranian officials said Tehran plans to become a hub for designing and building NPPs in the near future. They believe the ongoing global fuel crisis had made the use of nuclear energy more relevant, and Iran has a 20-year plan related to the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity. Eslami said all countries, including Iran, are entitled to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and that Iran intends to exercise that right.

Image: Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Mohammad Eslami (courtesy of AEOI)