Atucha II nuclear power plant
Encyclopedia
Atucha 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 (it is around 80% completed). Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), but was planned to have a much higher power (thermal power approx. 2,000 MW, electrical 750 MW). At the time when it was started, it had the largest reactor pressure vessel of any nuclear power plant worldwide. The total cost is now (2006) estimated at US$3.8 billion, or about $5500/kWe, considerably higher than the worldwide mean of about $1500/kWe.
Partly as a response to the energy shortage caused by natural gas crisis of 2004
, the issue of Atucha II was taken up by the Argentine government
. In 2005 President Néstor Kirchner
signed a decree to reactivate the construction and pledged to finish it by 2009. New technicians were hired and a budget of about $120 million was requested for 2006. Eduardo Messi, president of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina S.A. (the firm in charge of the plant), told reporters that 93% of the components were either in storage or already installed.
On 23 August 2006 the government announced the re-activation of the national nuclear programme, and updated its promise to finish Atucha II by 2010, devoting a total of 1,850 million pesos ($596/€466 million). The plant is slated to come on line with an installed capacity of about 750 MW (3% of Argentina's total electric installed capacity).
Atucha II was "pre-started" on September 28, 2011 by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
and it is scheduled to start commercial service by late 2012.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
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...
, located in Lima, Buenos Aires
Lima, Buenos Aires
Lima is a town in Zárate Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina with a population of 8,375 ....
, on a site next to Atucha I
Atucha I nuclear power plant
Atucha I is one of two operational nuclear power plants of Argentina. It is located in the town of Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires, about from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River....
. Its construction started in June 1981 under a contract with Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, but it has not been finished (it is around 80% completed). Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), but was planned to have a much higher power (thermal power approx. 2,000 MW, electrical 750 MW). At the time when it was started, it had the largest reactor pressure vessel of any nuclear power plant worldwide. The total cost is now (2006) estimated at US$3.8 billion, or about $5500/kWe, considerably higher than the worldwide mean of about $1500/kWe.
Partly as a response to the energy shortage caused by natural gas crisis of 2004
Argentine energy crisis (2004)
The Argentine energy crisis was a natural gas supply shortage experienced by Argentina in 2004. After the recession triggered by the economic crisis and ending in 2002, Argentina's energy demands grew quickly as industry recovered, but extraction and transportation of natural gas, a cheap and...
, the issue of Atucha II was taken up 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...
. In 2005 President Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
signed a decree to reactivate the construction and pledged to finish it by 2009. New technicians were hired and a budget of about $120 million was requested for 2006. Eduardo Messi, president of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina S.A. (the firm in charge of the plant), told reporters that 93% of the components were either in storage or already installed.
On 23 August 2006 the government announced the re-activation of the national nuclear programme, and updated its promise to finish Atucha II by 2010, devoting a total of 1,850 million pesos ($596/€466 million). The plant is slated to come on line with an installed capacity of about 750 MW (3% of Argentina's total electric installed capacity).
Atucha II was "pre-started" on September 28, 2011 by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
and it is scheduled to start commercial service by late 2012.
See also
- National Atomic Energy CommissionNational Atomic Energy CommissionThe National Atomic Energy Commission is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.CNEA's facilities include the...
- Atucha I nuclear power plantAtucha I nuclear power plantAtucha I is one of two operational nuclear power plants of Argentina. It is located in the town of Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires, about from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River....
- Embalse nuclear power plantEmbalse nuclear power plantThe Embalse Nuclear Power Station is one of the two operational nuclear power plants in Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of a reservoir on the Río Tercero, near the city of Embalse, Córdoba, 110 km south-southwest of Córdoba City....