Page 58 - IRANRptSep21

9.1.12 Renewable energy sector news
Russian envoy raises issue of ‘unpaid $500mn owed by Iran for Bushehr nuclear power plant work’
Iran says sanctions could bring its nuclear plant to a halt
Iran to launch wind farm on border with Afghanistan
Russia’s Ambassador to Tehran, Levan Jagaryan, has stated that Iran has failed to pay Moscow $500mn for work on constructing Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant-2, Kommersant reported on August 23.
Several dozen Russian engineers, based with their families in proximity to the plant in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf coast, have worked on the facility since 2003.
“Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to resolve the issue of Iranian debts for Bushehr nuclear power plant,” the ambassador reportedly said, adding that the difficulty with outstanding payments was related to US sanctions on Tehran throttling banking connections between the two countries.
The nuclear plant is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of the effort to ensure Iran keeps its nuclear power programme entirely civilian in line with the 2015 nuclear deal.
Initial construction on the Bushehr plant began as far back as under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia subsequently completed construction of the facility. The plant sits near active earth fault lines but was built to withstand powerful quakes. It has been periodically shaken by temblors.
Iran has said that its sole nuclear power plant, Bushehr, could stop operating this year because sanctions are hindering the country attempts to keep the unit running.
Bushehr is “facing the risk of shutdown” because US banking restrictions have made it difficult for the Islamic Republic to transfer money and procure necessary equipment, Mahmoud Jafari, a deputy at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
“Currency fluctuations and problems related to banking sanctions have complicated efforts to meet the reactor’s operational and maintenance costs and make payments to Russian contractors,” Jafari reportedly said.
Bushehr was developed by Russia. Operational since 2011, it is one of the oldest civilian nuclear power plants in the Middle East.
Most of Iran’s electricity, however, is produced from natural gas. Iran has the second biggest gas reserves in the world.
Russia has agreed to build two more 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors on the site of the existing reactor. The signed deal for the reactors is worth around $10bn, Tehran has said.
The Head of Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organisation (SATBA), Mohammad Satakin, has announced the inauguration of a huge wind farm project on the border of Iran and Afghanistan.
The 25-MWe wind project will be put into operation by the end of March and a further 25 MWe is scheduled to be launched in early 2022.
The construction of this 50-MWe power plant has resulted in development of the region’s infrastructure, including road construction, the construction of high-voltage electricity lines and substations, as well as telecommunication and internet infrastructure, Satakin said.
Noting the readiness of new investors to participate in wind projects in the region, he said: "In addition to this project, another 50-MWe wind farm project is under construction using 4.2 MW turbines, part of which will be completed by
58 IRAN Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com