Argentina annouces it's intent to expand nuclear power program.

Argentina to expand nuclear program


Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner, left, talks to Argentine Planning Minister Julio de Vido at Buenos Aires Government Palace, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006, during a press conference to announce that his government will invest $3.5 billion to resume Argentina's nuclear program and the enrichment of uranium for peacefully use. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina announced an ambitious plan Wednesday to expand its nuclear program to meet rising energy demands, including extending the life of existing plants and possibly resuming uranium mining.

At a Government House news conference, Planning Minister Julio de Vido said the plan calls for increasing the life span of the aging Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plants and completing construction by 2010 on the long-stalled Atucha II plant.

Two decades of delays have hampered completion of the Atucha II project, located some 75 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires.

Argentina Launches Multi-Billion-Dollar Nuclear Initiative

Argentina's Atucha II nuclear power plant.
by Staff Writers
Buenos Aires (AFP) Aug 24, 2006
Argentina has announced a major nuclear initiative worth 3.5 billion dollars to finish its third nuclear power plant, start a fourth and resume production of enriched uranium. The main goal of the plan unveiled late Wednesday, which will be carried out in cooperation with Canada, is to meet the country's energy demands.

Though an oil producer and exporter, Argentina's reserves are running low and its demand is higher, while investment has lagged.

Argentina has had the Atucha I nuclear power plant since 1974, as well as the Embalse plant, which both generate power.

Construction on Atucha II started in 1981 but had to be stopped several times. The government says about 600 million dollars are needed to finish it.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) will be a partner in the plan, modernizing technology at the Embalse plant which operates with Canadian Candu technology.

In the longer run however the government also wants to build a fourth plant, according to a working document, as well as resume production of enriched uranium that was frozen in the 1980s.

At a Government House news conference, Planning Minister, Julio de Vido, said the plan calls for increasing the life span of the aging Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plants and completing construction by 2010 on the long-stalled Atucha II plant. Two decades of delays have hampered completion of the Atucha II project, located some 120 kilometres northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. The nearby Atucha I facility has been operating since the mid-1970s, in conjunction with the Embalse plant in central Argentina. De Vido emphasized the "strictly peaceful" nature of Argentina's nuclear programme. The planning minister was flanked by President Nestor Kirchner, who did not comment on the plan nor on a report by the leading newspaper Clarin saying the nuclear programme could cost the government USD 3.5 billion over eight years. "When this government took office in 2003, the nuclear energy sector was re-activating," De Vido said. "Today we come to establish a strategic plan for the Argentine nuclear energy sector for the coming years." The programme calls for large-scale power generation to meet fast-growing energy demands, amid careful regulation by national authorities. Among other steps, he announced plans for "concrete steps" towards resumption of uranium mining.