[8]The name of the town is derived from the Bashkir name of the Belaya (White) River: "Aghidhel", a tributary of the Kama River, near the confluence of which the town is located.

It was founded in 1980 as a settlement supporting the construction of the Bashkir nuclear power plant.

[citation needed] Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the town of republic significance of Agidel—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.

Since the Chernobyl disaster, the people across entire Russia have been strongly opposed to construction of a nuclear plant in northwestern Bashkortostan.

In September 2010, the regional government of Bashkortostan announced plans about establishing an industrial park in Agidel that would promote local manufacturing of construction materials.