Brasília – After the Angra 3 Nuclear Plant, which should start operating in 2014, the government intends to build four other nuclear plants by 2030, with 1,000 megawatts of capacity each. The first plant should start operating in 2019, in the Northeast, close to the city of Recife or Salvador. Another plant should be built in the same region and two more in the Southeast, in the state of Rio de Janeiro or Espírito Santo.
The information was supplied by the secretary of Energy Planning and Development of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Altino Ventura Filho, who attended a public hearing at the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Climate Change yesterday (9th). “The nuclear program will be carried on by means of two plant sites, one in the Northeast region of Brazil and another in the Southeast, and each may have several units. The plan, however, is to have two units in the Northeast site and two in the Southeast up until 2030,” he explained.
At the public hearing, Ventura said that one megawatt-hour at the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant, at the Xingu River (state of Pará) should cost around 50 Brazilian reals (US$ 25.7). Further on, however, he claimed that the price should not be that low, but should be lower than the cost of energy generation at the Santo Antônio and Jirau plants, located along the Madeira River (state of Rondônia), which should be 78.8 reals (US$ 40.6) and 71.4 reals (US$ 36.8), respectively.
To him, Belo Monte is an extremely favourable plant, construction work will be easy, and the energy transmission line is already set up, namely the Turucuí-Manaus line. "The plant has a local structure that will make its construction easier, the Xingu River’s hydrological characteristic is one of large volumes of water. In a nutshell, various factors lead us to believe that the plant will be an economic one,” said the secretary.
Ventura claimed that presently, Brazil sets itself apart with regard to the use of renewable energies, which account for 46% of the energy matrix, whereas the global rate is 14%. “By 2030, the Brazilian energy policy will seek to maintain those rates and remain self-sufficient, with 50% of renewable sources,” he stated.
According to the secretary, even though Brazil is focussing its efforts on reducing fossil fuel use, that does not stop the country from investing in oil exploration, as is the case with the pre-salt layer. “Unfortunately, the world will continue using fossil fuels, and if Brazil explores [its resources] adequately, then we will be one of the large oil and natural gas exporting countries, and we have hopes of becoming an industry giant in the future.”
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
