The share of nuclear power in Iran's power mix is expected to experience a 700% growth to reach 8 gigawatts by 2041.
Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian made the statement in a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday over concerns about low share of nuclear energy in Iran’s energy mix, IRNA reported.
“The first unit of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in the southern namesake city, operational since 2011, accounts for 1 gigawatt of Iran’s total power output capacity at 84 GW,” he said, adding that the construction of the second and third units is being carried out by Russia.
“The two units, each with the capacity of 1 GW, will be operational in 2028, following which nuclear power generation capacity will stand at 3,000 MW,” he said.
“Over $10 billion will be allocated for constructing the two units whose lifespan will be at least 60 years.”
In 2014, Iran signed a contract with Russian company Rosatom and its subsidiaries to build the two reactors on the same site as the first plant.
Iran’s sole nuclear reactor has generated over 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the past 11 years that is equivalent to energy produced by burning 55 million barrels of crude.
The Bushehr plant is the first civilian nuclear power facility in the Middle East and operates under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
According to the Iranian minister, five nuclear power plants with a total generation capacity of 5,000 MW will also be constructed on Makran Coast in the southern Hormozgan Province.
Referring to the first unit of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Ardakanian said the plant usually operates for 298 days and generates about 7 billion kilowatt hours of power per annum.
The facility is shut down for maintenance for 90 days in March every year.
"The plant generated 6.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the past 12 months," the official said, noting that the output helped cut carbon dioxide emissions by 6 million tons.
Bushehr nuclear reactor has generated over 50 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity since 2011.
Temporary Shutdown
In related news, IRNA quoted Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the spokesman of state-run Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir), as saying that Bushehr nuclear facility has temporarily been shut down due to technical problems and will resume operation in a few days.
“A rise in temperature, which has been predicted for the coming days, will lead to a surge in power consumption and hit an unprecedented record of 62,000 megawatts,” Rajabi said.
“According to weather forecasts, up until the end of the week [June 25], we will see an average increase of 1.5 degrees centigrade throughout the country. The rise in some provinces will even reach 5 degrees, which will lead to higher power demand.”
The mercury in Tehran and other cities with a relatively moderate climate (compared to the southern regions) has hovered around 37 degrees Celsius in the past few days.
Electricity consumption on June 21 surpassed 60,500 MW while during the same period of last year, the figure was 54,500 MW.
Last July, electricity consumption in Iran exceeded 58,000 MW, registering the highest power consumption recorded in the country.
Higher electricity consumption is expected in the coming days. The rise in consumption will also lead to sporadic power outages in many parts of the country.
"If necessary, we will halt exports in the scorching days of summer," he said, adding that meeting domestic requirements is a priority.
Tavanir exports electricity to Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan. Under the swap deals, Iran exports electricity to Armenia and Azerbaijan in winter and imports in summer when domestic demand soars.
According to the official, although the country's installed capacity has increased in proportion to the annual economic growth, it is still not sufficient to meet the heavy domestic demand.
