Brazil's Eletronuclear Awaiting Final Installation Permit for 1,350-Megawatt Angra III Nuclear Power Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--State-owned Eletronuclear (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) could soon receive a construction and installation permit for the 1,350-megawatt (MW) Angra III Nuclear Power Plant by environmental regulator Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais (Ibama). Eletronuclear had submitted a document with solutions regarding 60 requirements or residual storage issues to Ibama on November 14. For more information, view related July 28, 2008, news article - Brazil's Long-Delayed Angra III to Receive Construction Permit after Solving Residual Storage Issue.

After analyzing the document, Ibama could grant the permit as early as December 30. Eletronuclear received the environmental and preliminary permit on July 23, which authorizes the company to build temporary structures and preliminary equipment needed for construction.

Eletronuclear announced that civil work scheduled to start in September was postponed to April 2009, with the plant's startup date set for 2015, a year later than the initial date. Construction will be carried out by engineering firm Andrade Gutierrez (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Civil work began in 1985 but was halted in 1986 because of the lack of funds and a lack of clear policies over the future of nuclear energy. The major part of the equipment is already on-site, and 30% of the infrastructure has been built. Eletronuclear has spent about $750 million in the plant so far, and an additional $1.84 billion will be needed to complete the facility.

In addition to the Angra complex, Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy recently announced plans to have more than 60 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity from nuclear power in the next 50 years. There are four nuclear power projects currently in more advanced stages than Angra III. Those projects' sites are expected to be defined in the next few months. Two of them are projected to be located in northern Brazil with operational dates targeted for 2019 and 2021. The other two are planned to be located in southeastern Brazil and are expected to start operations in 2023 and 2025. Each complex will produce about 1,000 MW and have a total investment cost of $500 million.

Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of Eletrobras (Rio de Janeiro), was established in 1997 to build and operate nuclear power plants in Brazil. Eletronuclear owns and operates the Central Nuclear Almirante Alvaro Alberto nuclear complex, which is formed by Angra I (657 MW), Angra II (1,350 MW) and Angra III (1,350 MW). The complex is located near the three principal state capital cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

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