Saednews: The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has said the Islamic Republic has launched a plan aimed at the production of as much as 20,000 megawatts of electricity from its peaceful nuclear energy activities.
Mohammad Eslami made the remarks during a meeting held in the capital Tehran on Tuesday to address the organization’s productivity levels.
"This immense project has effectively been launched, and executing companies have been developed to move the endeavor forward with government support," he said, Press TV reported.
Eslami noted that, throughout the past two decades, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei had emphasized the importance of achieving such a goal. “And we are working towards achieving this goal,” the top nuclear official stated.
Speaking last February, Eslami said the prospect was to be enabled by 2041.
Adding to his Tuesday remarks, he cited an instance of the country’s successful nuclear activities, saying the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran “has produced 72 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity over the past 10 years.”
This has “saved an equivalent of 110 million barrels of oil, while the facility’s construction cost had amounted to approximately one billion euros," the official stated.
Activating massive capacity for agricultural product irradiation
Elsewhere in his remarks, Eslami pointed to the country’s efforts at enabling irradiation of as much as 500,000 tons of agricultural products.
"Annually, about 30% of agricultural products are turned into waste. With the help of irradiation, the wastage is reduced, and exported goods are no longer returned, which directly impacts household economics."
Irradiation serves as the process of exposing agricultural products to radiation, commonly used to reduce spoilage, extend shelf life, and prevent pest infestation.
The Islamic Republic has been steadily advancing its nuclear energy program, despite facing illegal and unilateral sanctions on the part of the United States and its allies.
Also, last year, Eslami announced the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Iran’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan with an investment of $15 billion.
He noted at the time that the project for construction of the Iran-Hormoz Nuclear Power Plant was "much bigger" than the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, a 1,000-MW plant built by Russia and handed over in September 2013 after years of delay.
While leading its ambitions, the country has also continued to work closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and adhered to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
