Iran Eyes Construction of Two 5,000-MW N-Plants with Capital Market Financing

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chief Mohammad Eslami announced on Thursday that construction plans for two nuclear power plants, each with a capacity of about 5,000 megawatts, have begun and are currently in the implementation stage.

Eslami said the initiative would strengthen the country’s energy infrastructure while creating new long-term opportunities for capital market participation in national projects, as reported by IRIB. He added that plans were under way to finance nuclear power plant development projects through the capital market.

Referring to the organization’s capital market strategy, Eslami said nuclear power plant development projects had been defined and formulated within completed planning frameworks, execution sites had been selected, and related corporate structures had been established.

The newly created companies were designed to raise capital, he said. As projects gradually advance and conditions for attracting resources materialize, offering project shares in the capital market would be considered — an approach that could enable faster financing and more effective implementation of the plans, he added.

In early November, the AEOI chief said construction of four power plants in Bushehr and four additional plants in other parts of the country had been placed on the agenda with cooperation from the Russian government, with the Iranian government expected to later announce their specific locations.

Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, built by Russia in the southern province of Bushehr, was first connected to the national electricity grid on September 3, 2011, and entered commercial operation in September 2013. The reactor has a net generating capacity of about 915 megawatts, or roughly 1,000 MW. - Iran Daily