2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan is a project to renew and reactivate the development of nuclear power
in Argentina
.
The main points of the plan were announced by the Argentine government
through Planning Minister Julio de Vido
during a press conference on 23 August 2006. They include:
In 2010, an agreement was signed with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
(AECL) for the construction of Atucha III Nuclear Power Plant and the upgrade of Embalse A C$440m contract was signed in August 2011 for the refurbishment of Embalse from November 2013, which will add 25-30 years to its life.
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
The main points of the plan were announced by the Argentine government
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...
through Planning Minister Julio de Vido
Julio de Vido
Julio Miguel de Vido is an Argentine policy maker, currently the President's Minister of Planning and Public Works.-Biography:...
during a press conference on 23 August 2006. They include:
- Finishing the incomplete Atucha II Nuclear Power PlantAtucha II nuclear power plantAtucha II is a nuclear power plant in Argentina, located in Lima, Buenos Aires, on a site next to Atucha I. Its construction started in June 1981 under a contract with Siemens, but it has not been finished . Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor , but was planned to have a much...
, which was started in 1980, by 2011. , Atucha II is scheduled to start up in 2012. - Researching the feasibility of the construction of a new nuclear plant, the fourth in Argentina.
- Extending the operational life of the Embalse power plant, originally projected to end in 2011.
- Resuming the domestic production of enriched uraniumEnriched uraniumEnriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
. - Working on a prototype CAREMCAREMCAREM is an Argentine nuclear reactor designed by CNEA .- History :The reactor was first developed as a request of the Argentine Navy to power the TR-1700 submarine of German design. In 1984 it was presented publicly for the first time during an IAEA conference in Peru...
, a low-power nuclear reactor which could also be installed in one of the TR-1700 class submarineTR-1700 class submarineThe TR-1700 is a class of diesel-electric patrol submarines built by Thyssen Nordseewerke for the Argentine Navy in the 1980s. These ships are the largest submarines built in Germany since World War II and are among the fastest diesel-electric submarines in the world.- Development :The original...
s currently under construction.
In 2010, an agreement was signed with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory...
(AECL) for the construction of Atucha III Nuclear Power Plant and the upgrade of Embalse A C$440m contract was signed in August 2011 for the refurbishment of Embalse from November 2013, which will add 25-30 years to its life.