Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Iran’s nuclear program pursues peaceful goals and is aimed at diversifying energy sources, taking into account the expanding needs of the Iranian economy in new capacities.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant (NPP) in the southern Iranian city, which was temporarily closed for technical repair, has resumed its work, Hossein Ghaffari, the NPP head, told Iranian media.

He noted that the station will operate 298 days a year and will generate 7.3 billion kWh of electricity.

Ghaffari recalled that the plant produced 6.6 billion kWh of electricity in 2018. The NPP was stopped for technical repair for 90 days in March.

"Detection and replacement of defective and worn parts were undertaken after the nuclear material was moved to a safe place," the NPP head said.

Ghaffari also noted that 13 experts from eight countries inspected the plant in March and confirmed its compliance with international standards.

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behruz Kamalvandi, has earlier said that the station utilization rate in 2017 was 85.3 percent, which is 9 percent more than a year earlier. The utilization rate is the ratio of the operating time of a piece of equipment to the total time it is used.

Since 2011, Iran’s only nuclear reactor has generated more than 35 billion kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to the energy generated by burning 55 million oil barrels.

Construction of the Bushehr NPP was started in 1975 by German companies, but the work was stopped in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. Later, a contract for finishing the plant was signed between Iran and the Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy, with Russia's Atomstroyexport named as the main contractor. The work was delayed for several years by technical and financial challenges as well as by political pressure from the West.

After the construction was again in danger of being stopped in 2007, a renewed agreement was reached in which the Iranians promised to compensate for rising costs and inflation after completion of the plant. Delivery of nuclear fuel started in the same year. The plant started adding electricity to the national grid system on September 3, 2011, and was officially opened on September 12, 2011.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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