Iran has identified 34 potential sites for building new nuclear power plants, Deputy Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Ahmadian said, Press TV reported with reference to IRNA.
Ahmadian said that in order to identify appropriate locations, the country has been divided to six zones, adding that studies on the sites will be completed by the end of December.
He said that the south coast of the country was the major priority for the sites as there was easy access to water to cool down reactors.
He said that Iran could generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity by building more nuclear power plants.
The official added that Iranian scientists possessed expertise to build new nuclear plants but reiterated that Iran was willing to cooperate with foreign scientists to receive updated new technology.
He said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified the safety of the Bushehr plant, Iran's first nuclear plant, and assured Iran's neighbors that the plant would pose no threat to the region.
Iran officially launched the Bushehr plant on Monday.
The plant was connected to the national power grid earlier this month.
It will initially generate electricity at 40 percent of its capacity and will reach its full capacity of one-thousand megawatts in about two or three months.