First Vice President of Raisi: Construction of 20,000 Megawatts of Nuclear Power is on the Agenda

The First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the government's plans under Ibrahim Raisi to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power and emphasized the need to accelerate the implementation of new phases of the Bushehr power plant. Mohammad Mokhber stated on Wednesday night, June 21, that the importance of nuclear energy has doubled, and the Minister of Energy and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have been tasked with developing a structured and phased plan for the construction of 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power plants, with necessary resources to be included in the budget for the year 1403. This government plan for producing 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power was proposed after Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on June 11 during a visit to the 'Nuclear Achievements' exhibition that the nuclear industry is essential for improving the people's living conditions. He emphasized the development of nuclear energy, stating that 'at least twenty thousand megawatts of the country's electricity consumption must be nuclear.' The announcement comes at a time when the cost of constructing the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, was estimated by former Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri to be about $8.5 billion, while the contracted Russian companies estimated it to be around $10 billion. In contrast, studies show that the cost of producing 1,000 megawatts of electricity from solar energy is $1 billion, with maintenance costs being less than 5% compared to other electricity production models. This is a point that, according to some experts, makes nuclear electricity economically unfeasible for Iran and highlights the Islamic Republic's military objectives. Economic journalist Reza Ghaebi stated to Voice of America that 'if the priority of the Islamic Republic was the development and public welfare of the people, it could produce electricity at much lower costs.' He emphasized that nuclear electricity production serves as a cover for military nuclear activities, adding that 'in addition to the construction costs of the Bushehr power plant, which the Russian side has declared to be $10 billion, hidden costs amounting to several hundred billion dollars have been imposed on the country due to three decades of economic stagnation caused by sanctions.'