Study the Roles of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plants (BNPPs) for Achieving the Perspective of Sustainable Energy Development in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Energy is essential for human welfare and contributes to enhanced social stability through improved standards of living. In addition, energy and environmental problems are closely related. The concept of sustainable energy development is based on the principle of intergenerational justice, which includes meeting the energy needs of present generation without compromising the ability to meet the social justice, environmental protection, economic improvement, and power needs of future generations. Sustainable energy development relies on the comparative assessment of alternative options taking into account their economics, health, environmental and social impacts at regional and global levels. As there is no technology to progress the sustainable energy development without risk, wastes, or interaction with the environment, thus, energy's compatibility with the objectives of sustainable development cannot be judged in isolation but only in comparison with available alternatives such as nuclear,coal, natural gas, and renewables. This paper aims to study the roles of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plants (BNPPs) for achieving the perspective of sustainable energy development in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the current paper, comparative assessments of various electricity generating technologies are carried out in terms of social aspects, total generating cost, range of capital costs, levelized generating costs, grid-level system costs, external costs, average life-cycle CO۲ equivalent, life cycle greenhouse gasses emissions, human health impact, ecosystem impact, land footprint, required water, and preservation of natural resources. The comparative results show that the nuclear electricity competitive position within a sustainable development perspective is robust due to its high energy density while minimizing socio-economic costs and environmental problems compared to the available alternatives. Also, BNPPs play an important role to achieve Iran’s sustainable energy development and to become an unparalleled energy hub for the region, Iran is to move towards the use of nuclear power.

Keywords:

BNPP , Sustainable Energy Development , Economic , Social , Environment