News
Publish date: February 4, 2009
News
"If there are no unforeseen events(…)then the launch will go according to the timetable," Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters in the Kremlin.
"The launch is scheduled for this year," he was quoted by Reuters as saying. "I plan to be at the Bushehr plant in February."
A spokesman for Rosatom said Kiriyenko was talking about the so called "technical" start-up, which will be the first time the reactor is fully switched on and aims to test its systems before electricity is supplied to the grid.
The start up the Bushehr plant’s nuclear reactor has frequently been delayed, though Russia last year completed delivery of nuclear fuel to the station under a total contract estimated to be worth about $1 billion.
Russian ministers have said they have seen no hard evidence that Tehran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon while Iran says it has a right to a civilian nuclear programme its energy needs, and insist the plant cannot be used for any weapons projects.
Switching on the Bushehr plant will dismay some in the United States, Israel and Europe who are deeply suspicious of Iran’s intentions.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.