Iran to build 2 nuclear power plants

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it is seeking bids for the building of two more nuclear power plants, despite international pressures to curb its controversial program.


news.yahoo.com...


Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization in charge of power plants, said the plants would be light-water reactors, each with the capacity to generate up to 1,600 megawatts of electricity.

Each plant would cost up to $1.7 billion and take up to 11 years to construct, he told reporters during a news conference at his office.

These two are light water reactors. If they had doen that initially folks wouldnt have had as much problem with their nuclear program. So its looking like the heavy water reactors are for the bombs and the light-water reactors are for electricity. =)

Originally posted by princeofpeace
If they had doen that initially folks wouldnt have had as much problem with their nuclear program.

Well, it also doesn’t help to have kept their nuclear program (including the construction of Arak) secret, lie about it when questioned and operate completely outside the NNPT for almost two decades….

…but hey, they have to be telling the truth now!



mg

Originally posted by princeofpeace
These two are light water reactors. If they had doen that initially folks wouldnt have had as much problem with their nuclear program. So its looking like the heavy water reactors are for the bombs and the light-water reactors are for electricity. =)

The Bashir reactor is a lightwater design. LW reactors are for electricity and so are moderated reactors. Its just that LW reactors produce Plutonium with high levels of PU 240 contamination which is unsuitable for weapons, and almost impossible to separate from the PU239.

But, you need enriched Uranium for LW reactors.

BECAUSE Iran is building LW reactors they are also building an uranium enrichment facility that could possibly be used to make weapons grade material.

The Bashur facility is a heavy water reactor, that is why Iran is enriching uranium.