Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Third Nuclear Plant on the Way

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 1 2004 (IPS) - The Brazilian government will decided towards the end of the year whether it will build Angra III, the country's third nuclear power plant. The power plant, like the existing ones, would be located on a beach of Angra dos Reis municipality, 180 km from Rio de Janeiro, and would generate 1,300 megawatts. Equipment has already been purchased for it, and requires 20 million dollars in maintenance costs annually.

Furthermore, completion of the site would meet a demand for making viable the production of enriched uranium by the state-run Brazilian Nuclear Industries. The world market for this energy source moves 11 billion dollars a year.

These motives, set forth by the nuclear industry's technicians and scientists, are generally rejected by environmentalists.

Development of nuclear sector is a strategic and economic matter, as well as being an energy source, Aquilino Senra, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, told Tierramérica.