Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant

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Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant
CountryIran
LocationDarkhovin
Coordinates30°42′28″N 48°22′48″E / 30.70778°N 48.38000°E / 30.70778; 48.38000Coordinates: 30°42′28″N 48°22′48″E / 30.70778°N 48.38000°E / 30.70778; 48.38000
StatusProposed
Construction began2008
Owner(s)Nuclear Power Production & Development Co. of Iran
Operator(s)Nuclear Power Production & Development Co. of Iran
Power generation
Units planned1 × 360 MW
Units under const.1 × 360 MW
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The Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant (also known as Esteghlal Nuclear Power Plant) is a planned nuclear power plant located about 70 kilometers south of Ahvaz, Iran at the Karun river, as part of the nuclear program of Iran. One reactor is firmly planned. Some other projects on this site were cancelled.

History[]

Before the Iranian Revolution, Iran had signed a 2 billion dollar contract with French company Framatome to build two 910 MW pressurized water reactors, at Darkhovin. After the Revolution, France withdrew from the project and the engineering components of the plant were withheld in France. The Iranian components were then used to build the units 5 and 6 of Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in France which went online in 1985.[1] Construction of the power station was halted during Iran–Iraq War. In 1992, Iran signed an agreement with China to build two 300 MW reactors at the site, which were to be completed within ten years and would have been similar to Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan which is built by China.[2] But later on China withdrew from the project under United States pressure.[3][4]

The project was subsequently taken up by Iran itself, as no other country was ready to cooperate in its construction.[5] Iran started to indigenously design the reactor for Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant basing the design on IR-40 reactor using heavy water. The Iranian nuclear reactor design has a capacity of 360 MW. The plant was announced in 2008, originally scheduled to come online in 2016,[6] but construction has been delayed.[7] There is currently no public information on how many reactors the power station is planned to house. The plant is going to be Iran's first indigenously designed and built nuclear power plant besides the research reactor of IR-40.[8][9][10] According to the head of Iran's Atomic Energy agency Abbas Salehi, Swiss-Swedish conglomerate ABB has been retained as a partner/external consultant in this project in recent years but has pulled out because of the international sanctions.[11]

In fiction[]

In 1976 novel of Paul Erdman, Crash of '79, Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant is mentioned to have been completed by France and Mohammed Reza Pahlavi the then Shah of Iran uses the plant with the help from Israel and Switzerland to manufacture a dozen salted bombs.

Reactor data[]

Plans for the site are not clear

Reactor unit[12] Reactor type Net
capacity 		Gross
capacity 		Construction started
 Electricity
Grid 		Commercial
Operation 		Shutdown
Darkhovin [7] Pressurized Water Reactor 330 MW 360 MW 2008 [13] - - -
Estehlal-1 [14] Pressurized Water Reactor 280 MW 300 MW Cancelled Plan
Estehlel-2 [15] Pressurized Water Reactor 280 MW 300 MW Cancelled Plan

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Nuclear Power in Iran - World Nuclear Association". www.world-nuclear.org.
  2. ^ "Green Party of Iran - News". www.iran-e-sabz.org.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2010-04-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Esfahan / Isfahan - Iran Special Weapons Facilities".
  5. ^ "President invites intl. companies to participate in nuclear plant projects". Tehran Times. January 30, 2008.
  6. ^ "Iran starts second atomic power plant: report". Reuters. February 8, 2008 – via www.reuters.com.
  7. ^ a b "Darkhovain on the PRIS of the IAEA".
  8. ^ http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/352355/iran_press_official_provides_details_on_native_iranian_nuclear_plant/
  9. ^ "Iran Nuclear Milestones: 1967-2017 | Iran Watch". www.iranwatch.org.
  10. ^ http://www.ahwazstudies.org/content/view/2852/53/lang,english/ Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Iran Construction 8 Nuclear Reactor Plants & water Desalination ایران ساخت راکتو و آب شیرین کن".
  12. ^ Power Reactor Information System from the IAEA: „Iran, Islamic Republic of: Nuclear Power Reactors“ Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Iran starts second atomic power plant: report, Reuters, Feb 8, 2008.
  14. ^ "Estehlal 1 on the PRIS of the IAEA".
  15. ^ "Estehlalr 2 on the PRIS of the IAEA".

External links[]

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