Nuclear power in Argentina
In Argentina, about 10% [1] of the electricity comes from 3 operational nuclear reactors: Embalse, a CANDU reactor, and Atucha I and II, two PHWR German designs.
In 2001, the Atucha plant was modified to burn Slightly Enriched Uranium, making it the first PHWR reactor to burn that fuel worldwide.[citation needed] Atucha was originally planned to be a complex with various reactors. Atucha 2 (similar to Atucha 1 but more powerful) began to produce energy on June 3, 2014, and it is expected to produce 745MWh[clarification needed]. Plans for Atucha III, a third reactor in the Atucha complex, have been announced.[2]
Argentina also has various research reactors,[3] and exports nuclear technology. Nucleoeléctrica of Argentina and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited are negotiating over the contracts and project delivery model for a new 740 MWe CANDU nuclear power plant.[4]
In July 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Argentine President Cristina Fernández Kirchner, during a visit to the country.[5]
In February 2015, Argentine president Cristina Kirchner and Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping signed a cooperation agreement, and the build of a Hualong One design power station has been proposed.[6][7]
In December 2015 a new uranium enrichment plant to manufacture fuel for Argentina's nuclear plants, located in Pilcaniyeu, was inaugurated. The plant will use both gaseous diffusion and more modern laser techniques.[8]
China and Argentina had agreed a contract to build a 700 MWe CANDU 6 derived reactor. Its construction was planned to start in 2018 at Atucha,[9][10] but it was indefinitely suspended by Mauricio Macri's government due to financial issues.[11] The building of a 1000 MWe Hualong One plant is planned to start in 2020.[10]
Reactors
[edit]Commercial
[edit]| Plant name |
Unit No. |
Type | Model | Status | Capacity (MW) |
Begin building |
Commercial operation |
Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atucha[12] | 1 | PHWR | Siemens-KWU | Operation suspended (under maintenance) |
362 | 1 Jun 1968 | 24 Jun 1974 | |
| 2 | PHWR | Siemens-KWU | Operational | 745 | 14 Jul 1981 | 27 Jun 2014 | ||
| 3 | PWR | Hualong One | Planned[13] | 1200 | ||||
| Embalse[14] | 1 | PHWR | CANDU-6 | Operational | 683 | 1 Apr 1974 | 20 Jan 1984 | (2049)[15] |
| CAREM | 1 | PWR | CAREM25 | Under construction | 25 | 8 Feb 2014 |
Research reactors
[edit]| Name[16] | Reactor type | Status | Capacity in kWt | Construction start date | First criticality date | Closure | Operator and owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA-0 | Tank | Operational | 0.01 | January 1954 | 1 January 1965 | National University of Córdoba | |
| RA-1 Enrico Fermi | Tank | Operational | 40 | April 1957 | 20 January 1958 | National Atomic Energy Commission | |
| RA-2 | Critical assembly | Decommissioned | 0.03 | January 1965 | 1 July 1966 | 23 September 1983a | National Atomic Energy Commission |
| RA-3 | Pool | Operational | 10,000 | February 1963 | 17 May 1967 | National Atomic Energy Commission | |
| RA-4 | HOMOG | Operational | 0.001 | January 1971 | 1 January 1972 | National University of Rosario | |
| RA-6 | Pool | Operational | 3,000 | September 1978 | 23 September 1982 | National Atomic Energy Commission | |
| RA-8 | Critical assembly | Temporary Shutdown | 0.01 | January 1986 | 16 June 1997 | 2001 | National Atomic Energy Commission |
| RA-10 | Under construction | 30,000 | March 2016 | (late 2023) | National Atomic Energy Commission |
Legislation
[edit]Provinces that have banned the construction of nuclear power plants are:[17]
- Provincial Law, Nº 3902
- Article 1: Declare the territory of the Chaco Province nuclear-free zone.
- Provincial Law, Nº 4207
- Article 1: Prohibits throughout the territory of the Corrientes Province, installing nuclear plants.
- Provincial Law, Nº 8785
- Article 3: It is forbidden the installation of nuclear power plants
- Provincial Constitution
- Article 18: La Pampa is declared a nuclear-free zone, to the extent determined by a special law in order to preserve the environment. Any damage it causes to the environment will generate liability under the applicable legal regulations or as may be provided.[18]
- Provincial Law, Nº 5227
- Article 1: It is forbidden in the territory of the Province of Río Negro the installation of nuclear power generation plants.
- Provincial Law, Nº 5567
- Article 1: Declare the territory of the San Luis Province a nuclear-free zone.
- Provincial Law, Nº 10753
- Article 1: It is forbidden in the Santa Fe Province, the installation of plants and/or temporary or permanent nuclear deposits.
- Article 3: Declare the Santa Fe Province a nuclear-free zone.
- Provincial Constitution
- Article 56: It is forbidden in the Province. 1 - Conducting tests or nuclear tests of any kind for military purposes. 2 - Generation of energy from nuclear sources. 3 - Introduction and disposal of nuclear, chemical, biological waste or any other type or nature proven to be toxic, hazardous or potentially in the future.[19]
- Provincial Law, Nº 6253
- Article 47: It is forbidden in the province: b) Generate energy from nuclear sources until the international scientific community works out an appropriate treatment for nuclear waste.
See also
[edit]
- National Atomic Energy Commission
- 2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan
- Argentina and weapons of mass destruction
Notes
[edit]- ^a Dismantled 1984-1989 after a criticality accident. Fuel removed to the United States in 2007.
References
[edit]- ^ "Atucha 2 reaches 100% rated power". WNN. 19 February 2015.
- ^ "Una nueva central nuclear, 30 años después". 29 September 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/36/018/36018102.pdf?r=1 [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Canada, Argentina and China to cooperate on Candu projects". World Nuclear News. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- ^ "Russia moves to support Argentina through new debt crisis". Argentina News.Net. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ "Hualong One selected for Argentina". World Nuclear News. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Charlie Zhu and David Stanway (6 March 2015). "'Made in China' nuclear reactors a tough sell in global market". Reuters. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "Argentina resumes uranium enrichment". Nuclear Engineering International. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Argentina-China talks on new nuclear plants". World Nuclear News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Argentina and China sign contract for two reactors". World Nuclear News. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ Cronista.com. "Suspenden la construcción las centrales nucleares financiadas por China 'hasta un mejor momento fiscal'". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ "Nuclear Power in Argentina | Argentinian Nuclear Energy – World Nuclear Association". world-nuclear.org. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "China inks $8 bln nuclear power plant deal in Argentina". Reuters. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Yulia Kosarenko. "NASA fact sheet". Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "The Embalse Nuclear Power Plant returns to service for a new cycle of 30 years". BNamericas.com.
- ^ "Breve historia de los reactores nucleares de investigación y producción de la CNEA" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ Legislation map
- ^ La Pampa Constitution
- ^ Tierra del Fuego Constitution
