Brazil to build 50 more nuclear power plants at rate one per year
Brazil plans to build 50 to 60 nuclear power plants in half a century, with each having capacity of 1,000 megawatts. Brazil Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao, told the official government news service Agencia Brasil on Friday.
As a political crisis in Bolivia renewed doubts about the reliability of key natural gas supplies from the Andean country, construction on some of the new plants may begin as early as April. The plan aims to reduce dependence on other energy sources. “The problem in Bolivia is more proof that we have to continue with our nuclear program,” Lobao said.
Lobao spoke during a visit to the construction site of Angra 3, Brazil’s third nuclear power plant, in Rio de Janeiro. The plant is expected to start functioning within five years. The construction of Angra 3 started in 1984, but was halted for21 years. The decision to resume the project and expand the nuclear program was welcomed by Brazil’s industrial sector as a way to prevent an energy crisis in future decades, but environmentalists warned of the problem of the residues storage.
Angra 1 and Angra 2, both located in the southeastern state of Rio De Janeiro, currently have a combined installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts.
Besides the three plants, four others, two in northeastern Brazil and two in the southeastern part, are due to start operation by 2020.
It is said Brazil’s environment ministry will not allow Angra 3 to start operation until the residues problem is resolved.
According to Lobao, the construction of Angra 3 is due to be resumed in April 2009 and will take almost five years to complete, at a cost of 7 billion reais (3.7 billion U.S. dollars).