US Names Russian Nuclear Power Plants for India, Iran Best Projects of 2014

Iranian nuclear power station Bushehr and the Indian Kudankulam NPP topped the "Nuclear energy" category as the modern technologies they use produce cleaner and more effective sources of energy.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian-backed Iranian nuclear power station Bushehr and the Kudankulam Indian nuclear power plant projects were named projects of the year 2014 by the US Power Engineering magazine in the "Nuclear energy" category.

The editors claim that these projects represent global nuclear trends as the modern technologies they use produce cleaner and more effective sources of energy.

When judging the finalists, the magazine considered "capacity, the technology, and the projects' impact on the industry and on the communities in which they were installed."

The Bushehr plant's construction, initially planned by the German company Kraftwerk Union AG, faced a series of delays due to sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and its allies. When Germany refused to continue working on the project, in August 1992, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to construct the nuclear station, and in January 1995 the countries signed a contract stipulating the completion of the construction of the first bloc.

Russia's Atomstroyexport managed to substitute Russian equipment during the construction, which was initially based on German plans. The first Bushehr reactor became operational in 2011, with Iran and Russia agreeing to build two other nuclear reactors in November 2014.

In 2012, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom launched a much-delayed joint project to build the Kudankulam NPP at the very southern tip of the Hindustan peninsula. Unit 1 of the plant reached full capacity in July, and Unit 2 is said to be nearing completion.