Argentina sticks to China nuclear plans

Argentina's new government has given its backing to the nuclear plans that it inherited from the previous administration

Argentina has reaffirmed plans to build two nuclear power plants backed by China.

Energy minister Juan Jose Aranguren and the director of China's National Energy Administration, Nur Bekri, signed an initial deal on 29 June in Beijing calling for the construction of Argentina's fourth and fifth nuclear plants.

The government of President Mauricio Macri had said it was reviewing the plans, which it inherited from the previous administration. The $15bn developments entail the construction of two power stations totalling 1,750MW of capacity. Chinese bank ICBC would finance 85pc of the construction of a 750MW plant costing $5.99bn under the agreement signed by the previous government in November last year. The agreement did not specify the financing details for the second, 1,000MW, plant.

Under the latest agreement, the countries will accelerate negotiations with the objective of beginning construction at the first plant, featuring a heavy-water reactor, in the first quarter of 2017, and at the second plant, which would operate on light water and slightly enriched uranium, in 2019.

Argentina has three heavy-water nuclear plants, including a new 745MW power station in Lima, Buenos Aires province, and a nearby 357MW facility. The third 648MW plant in Embalse, Cordoba, is undergoing an overhaul to boost its capacity to 683MW.

Former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government signed a preliminary agreement with Russia to design and build another 1,200MW nuclear plant, but the government has yet to confirm whether this project will move forward. Russia's ambassador to Argentina expressed optimism in April that there would be progress on the development before the end of this year.

Argentina generation mix, May