New shipment of nuclear fuel delivered to Bushehr NPP - Russian embassy to Iran
MOSCOW. April 29 (Interfax) - Russia has delivered a new shipment of nuclear fuel to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the Russian embassy to Iran said.
"As a result of the joint efforts of the AEOI [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran], State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, another consignment of nuclear fuel was delivered to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on April 29," the embassy said.
"Mentioned fuel is necessary for the further successful functioning of the reactor," it said.
"Russian Federation attaches great importance to the progressive development of cooperation with Iran in the field of nuclear energy," the embassy said.
Russia has been building the Bushehr NPP in Iran. The first 1,000 MW unit was delivered to the Iranian customer on September 23, 2013. The groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the NPP construction, envisioning the construction of units 2 and 3, took place on September 10, 2016. The construction of unit 2 is expected to last from 2016 to 2024. The concrete-pouring ceremony for unit 3 took place in November 2019, and its construction should be completed in 2026. The aggregate capacity of units 2 and 3 is to be 2,100 MW.
The Bushehr NPP must be switched off every ten months of power generation for fuel replacement and maintenance.
The United States imposed sanctions on the AEOI and its head Ali Akbar Salehi in January 2020. At the same time, exemptions to U.S. sanctions on Iran apply to the Bushehr facility.