Brazil orders studies into third nuclear reactor
Date: 07-Dec-01
Country: BRAZIL
The National Energy Council said it authorized state utility Eletrobras and its subsidiary Eletronuclear to carry out budgetary studies on the project to build Angra III at the two-reactor plant Angra, 80 miles (130 km) west of Rio de Janeiro.
Plans to build Angra III have run into tough opposition from environmentalists who argue that Angra, surrounded by tropical forest and beach resorts, has a dangerously high level of shutdowns and insufficient space to store nuclear waste.
The project was taken off the council's agenda in August, signaling that it could be axed. Now the council will decide definitively whether to authorize the reactor's construction once the financial studies are completed, expected for the second half of next year.
Brazil will hold presidential elections in October 2002.
The council also ruled that the controversial project would only go ahead if studies find a long-term solution to store radioactive waste. Analysts say Angra III, if it goes ahead, could cost between $1.7 billion and $2.4 billion to build.
The Brazilian Association of Nuclear Energy, which favors the project, applauded the council's decision this week.
"This was what we wanted," the association's director Everton Carvalho told Reuters.
The construction of alternative power sources took on fresh urgency this year after Brazil ran into an energy shortage following a severe drought that dried up reservoirs that feed hydro-electric plants. Water-driven plants provide about 90 percent of Brazil's energy.