Brazil’s Government Divided on Nuclear Plant 40 Years Under Construction

Brazil’s Government Divided on Nuclear Plant 40 Years Under Construction | OilPrice.com

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Breaking News:

ByCharles Kennedy– Feb 18, 2025, 9:30 AM CST

The government of Brazil is debating whether the country should complete the construction of a nuclear power plant that has been under construction for 40 years, and is divided on the issue, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Contraction for the Angra 3 power plant, Brazil’s third nuclear facility, began in the 1980s. But works have been abandoned several times due to issues with financing and corruption probes, among others.

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The first nuclear concrete for the reactor was poured in 2010, but construction at the site is currently suspended.

Brazil has two operational nuclear power plants currently, generating about 3% of its electricity mix.

At Andra 3, construction for Brazil’s third nuclear power reactor was re-launched in November 2022 after being stalled for more than seven years.

However, following orders from the municipal government of Angra dos Reis, construction was once again suspended in April 2023.

The fate of the plant will be decided not by the government itself but by the National Energy Policy Council, CNPE, of Brazil. The council had to decide in 2024 whether construction should resume or the whole plant scrapped, but it postponed the decision.

CNPE is meeting on Tuesday to discuss the matter but it is not certain that a definitive decision would be taken today.

Backers of the plant, including Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, argue that the project needs to be completed. The argument for many of the proponents is that nuclear power is cleaner than thermal power generation.

But opponents say that another nuclear facility would undermine and overlook Brazil’s renewable resources, such as hydropower, solar, and wind. A lack of funding is also a major argument against a third nuclear power plant.

Brazil generates more than 90% of its electricity from clean energy sources, with hydropower dominating with more than 60% of all generation. The combined share of wind and solar is about 21%, while nuclear power accounts for 3%.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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