Nuclear Power Is Priority for Brazil, Says Energy Minister

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Friday, November 22nd, that Brazil’s nuclear program is a priority for Brazil and that, after “ups and downs,” the country is returning to the level in which “one can dream”.

The minister took part in the awards ceremony of the Nuclear Recognition Prize by the Brazilian Association for the Development of Nuclear Activities (ABDAN), now in its third year.

“The nuclear program is a priority for Brazil. It is part of our energy grid and, due to our country’s features, we cannot give up this source of energy,” he said.

The Brazilian nuclear program began in the 1950s. The Angra 1 and Angra 2 plants were built and began operating on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in following decades. The complex is managed by Eletronuclear.

Nuclear power accounts for approximately three percent of all power generation in Brazil.

Angra 3 will be the third plant in the Almirante Álvaro Alberto Nuclear Power Plant, located on Itaorna beach, in Angra dos Reis (RJ). According to Eletronuclear, when it comes into commercial operation, the new 1,405-megawatt unit will produce more than 12 million megawatt-hours per year, enough energy to supply the cities of Brasília and Belo Horizonte during the same period.

With Angra 3, nuclear energy will generate the equivalent of 50 percent of consumption by the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Over 60 percent of the Angra 3 plant was built at a cost of almost R$10 billion (US$2.5 billion). A further R$15 billion investment is required to complete the work.

The construction work is expected to resume in 2020, according to ABDAN’s president, Celso Cunha. He said this year was spent “untying knots” in the sector. “The thermonuclear generation sector is starting to provide a solution for the solution of the impediment to Angra 3,” he said.

The ceremony took place at the Naval Club of Rio de Janeiro, with the award of Honors to Fleet Admiral Eduardo Bacellar Leal Ferreira; researchers Aldo Malavasi and Carlos Alberto Aragão de Carvalho Filho; and to engineer João Carlos Cunha Bastos.

Source: Agência Brasil