Aspects of Iran's progress in nuclear energy

The national progress and growth perspective and energy need plan is consistent with the growing demand for energy worldwide and the necessity for countries to produce energy from clean and sustainable sources.

Today, with 400 gigawatts of installed capacity, nuclear energy is the first low-carbon source of electricity in developed countries and the second source in the world after hydroelectricity.

While the momentum for the gradual elimination of fossil fuels is increasing and the energy transition from traditional and non-renewable energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas to renewable and sustainable sources begins, many countries are either planning to build or are in the process of building power reactors.

Around the world, about 65 reactors are under construction, and about 90 more are planned, mostly in Asia.

In Europe, France, which gets most of its electricity from nuclear reactors, and Eastern countries that plan to expand their reactors, are strong advocates of low-carbon nuclear power as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Nuclear power plants also generate about 20 percent of the electricity in the United States, where 93 nuclear reactors are operating.

Last year, the White House announced that then-President Joe Biden had called for the country’s nuclear power capacity to triple to meet energy demand, which is growing in part due to the spread of energy-intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

In West Asia, Saudi Arabia, which has the world’s second-largest natural oil reserves, has ordered 16 nuclear reactors.

This is while the West has always tried to blame Iran for developing the nuclear industry, citing its rich oil and gas reserves.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has set a goal of producing 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2041 and achieving self-sufficiency in the production and export of nuclear energy.

The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is an active reactor that produces 1.2 percent of the electricity used in the country.

Uranium enrichment is the main pillar of Iran’s nuclear program, which has propelled the country’s efforts to achieve scientific independence.

Iran and the Development of Nuclear Knowledge

According to the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Article 4 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Iran’s reasons for scientific innovation and nuclear development are also completely justified and logical. Today, many advanced countries refuse to provide new technologies and sciences for society with greater capabilities to countries that lack them, in order to keep them forever dependent.

The nuclear industry is one of the strategic sectors necessary for producing scientific power, cultivating a new generation of specialists, and growing industries related to the manufacture of nuclear equipment and facilities.

Iran's use of nuclear knowledge has led to the establishment of numerous research, production, and service centers and laboratories in various fields.

These centers include the production of various radioisotopes, radiopharmaceuticals, and lasers, and increasing the productivity of agricultural species and commodities such as wheat, barley, and cotton through the application of mutant breeding and biotechnology, and irradiation to prevent agricultural waste.

In the petrochemical industry, it is used in the production of heat-absorbing components, and in the strategic oil and gas sector, leaks in oil pipelines are detected using radioactive tracers.

These achievements are also being used to discover uranium, coal, and other mines, and oil and gas wells through airborne geophysical surveys.

The medical sector is another area where nuclear science is used in vaccinations and the sterilization of health products in Iranian clinics and hospitals.

The nuclear industry is also a key asset in the progress towards carbon neutrality. The electricity generated in Bushehr has prevented the emission of about 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide, a similar amount of particulate matter, plus almost the same amount of sulfur and nitrogen oxides.

According to Press TV, Iran has been pursuing the peaceful use of nuclear energy for years and has proven in good faith that it has no goal other than peaceful and industrial use of this energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly confirmed this fact through its most stringent inspections in the agency’s history.