Bushehr nuclear plant to reach full generation in early 2011

• 14 years ago (2010-10-06)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1088 Middle East 326 Nuclear 659

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Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi has announced that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will reach its nominal generating capacity in spring.

"I hope that the Bushehr nuclear power plant can generate (electricity) with full nominal power next spring," Salehi told reporters.

The Bushehr plant is the first nuclear power plant in Iran and also the Middle East. The AEOI plans to inject fuel into the plant reactor by mid-November, and the power plant will start generating 40% of its nominal capacity in mid-December.

The first nuclear power plant in Iran, region and the Middle East will start operation when the fuel is sent to the centre of the reactor.

Iran transferred nuclear fuel into the main building of its first nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr in a ceremony attended by senior Iranian and Russian nuclear officials on August 21.

Western corporations began the construction of the Bushehr facility in the 1970s. However, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the project due to political pressure from Washington.

Iran then turned to Russia to complete the project. In 1992, Tehran and Moscow signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant. Russia started building the nuclear facility in 1994.