The Argentine President Alberto Fernández has decided to reactivate a project to build a new nuclear power plant in Argentina. The new power plant in the province of Buenos Aires will generate 1,200 MW and help meet the country’s energy needs, but is being called into question because of its high cost and potential risks.
The project was originally presented in 2015 by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was President from 2007 to 2015. Back then, the goal was to build two power plants financed by China. One with Canadian CANDU technology, which is now used in Argentine plants, and the other with the new Chinese Hualong technology.
Former President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) then questioned the agreement and decided to proceed with only one plant, the one with Chinese technology, in order to reduce costs. However, the project did not progress. Fernández now wants to boost the Chinese nuclear power plant first, with the option of adding CANDU in the medium term.
“Argentina’s economy will continue to grow and therefore aims to slightly increase the proportion of nuclear energy in its matrix,” said José Luis Antunez, director of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, the state-owned company that manages the nuclear power plants. “We will start the project as soon as possible.”
Nuclear power generated approx. 7.5% of Argentine energy, with a mix that is mainly based on hydrocarbons and the production of which is subsidized. Non-conventional renewable energies, particularly solar and wind, have grown in recent years thanks to the RenovAR program.
The nuclear deal is in line with Argentina’s “comprehensive strategic alliance” with China, a high diplomatic status that China reserves to only a few countries. Fernández sees China as a strategic ally in several sectors beyond nuclear energy, and health Working together during the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened relationships.
“These two nuclear projects will help organize the Argentine energy sector,” says Nicolás Malinovsky, director of the Energy, Science and Technology Observatory. “Nuclear power plants go hand in hand with the development of an industrial sector and are a key element in the energy transition.”
Nuclear energy in Argentina
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to adopt nuclear power, but despite having an advanced industry, it has always imported nuclear reactor technologies. There are currently three nuclear power plants in operation, Atucha I and Atucha II in the Zárate and Embalse districts in the northern province of Cordoba.
After a hiatus in the 1990s, the sector was revitalized in 2006 with a national nuclear plan that resulted in the completion of the Atucha II project and the development of the Embalse life extension project. Although it is a more expensive form of energy than others, nuclear energy is also used to develop Argentina’s scientific and technological sectors.
In 2020, electricity costs in Argentina were $ 35.30 per megawatt hour (MWh) for conventional thermal energy, 18.5 MWh for hydropower, $ 73 for renewable energy and 47.3 MWh for nuclear energy, according to the source. as identified by Diálogo Chino below, a request for access to public information.
“It helps diversify the matrix in a slightly cleaner direction. However, there are no economic or environmental feasibility studies to support new nuclear power plants and that is a problem,” said Julián Rojo, energy economist at General Mosconi Argentine Energy Institute.
Nuclear power plants go hand in hand with the development of an industrial sector and are a central element of the energy transition
Nuclear power is one of the few carbon-free energy options that offers a balance with variable sources such as wind and solar power. However, the risks of radiation and core meltdown are a matter of concern and have resulted in a lack of social permission for expansion in Argentina.
Argentina has made a commitment Reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 19% under the 2015 Paris Agreement. This requires a energy transition on environmentally friendly energy sources and nuclear power is an option.
Nuclear power plants can be operated almost without interruption at full power and offer a continuous and reliable energy supply. Solar and wind energy require an emergency power supply during the interruptions caused by setting sun or decreasing wind strengths.
In a 2018 report, argued the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together leading global climate scientists, argued that nuclear power needs to be increased to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 ° C by the end of the century.
Argentina’s new nuclear power plant
While Argentina debates the future role of nuclear power in its energy matrix, China has emerged as a forerunner of nuclear power in recent years due to air pollution, climate change and domestic energy security issues.
In the past, China relied on imported technology, but has recently started producing its own reactors, including the Hualong reactor. According to the government Made in China 2025 planThe Asian country is striving to use more domestic technology and become a global leader in the nuclear industry.
The agreement with Argentina is one of the first successes of the Chinese nuclear industry abroad. In 2014, The Chinese Hualong reactor has passed the safety clearance of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It runs on enriched uranium, as opposed to the CANDU, which runs on natural uranium.
The Chinese nuclear power plant is a turnkey project, which means that it will plan, build and equip the plant. But it will use around 40% local components, just like Atucha I did when Argentina was just beginning to develop nuclear energy. The government is relying on it to produce the enriched uranium necessary to operate the facility.
All new projects must be economically competitive and comply with the country’s climate protection obligations
“The local engineering and construction workers and the rest of the professionals who manage the project will have a lot of work to do, but the national metal mechanics, electrical and chemical industries are the least involved in a new project technology that is not already in use and which lacks the industrial base, “said Antunez.
Argentina will borrow approximately $ 8 billion from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to fund 85% of the project. The rest is financed by the state. Antunez assumes that the contract will be concluded by mid-2022. At this point in time, construction in the province of Buenos Aires is to begin immediately.
A group of former Argentine energy ministers criticized the project, claiming it would have been cheaper to develop solar and wind power instead. They also called for a wider discussion about the future of the country’s energy matrix.
Jorge Lapeña, one of the former officials, said: “Any future energy project must be part of a long-term national energy plan that does not yet exist today. All new projects must be economically competitive and in line with what the country is doing. “Commitments.”
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