Angra Nuclear Power Plant is Brazil's only nuclear power plant. It is located at the Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto (CNAAA) on the Itaorna Beach in
Angra dos Reis
Angra dos Reis (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''cove'' or ''bay of the Kings'') is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality located in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. Th ...
,
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. It consists of two
pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada).
In a PWR, water is used both as ...
s (PWR), Angra I, with a net output of 609
MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...
, first connected to the power grid in 1985 and Angra II, with a net output of 1,275 MWe, connected in 2000.
Work on a third reactor, Angra III, with a projected output of 1,245 MWe, began in 1984 but was halted in 1986. Work started again on 1 June 2010 for entry into service in 2015 and later delayed into the 2020s.Power Reactor Information System of the
IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
The Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto complex is administered by
Eletronuclear
Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. (commonly referred to as Electrobras, ) is a major Brazilian electric utilities company. The company's headquarters are located in Rio de Janeiro.
It is Latin America's biggest power utility company, tenth la ...
, a state company with the
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
in nuclear power generation in Brazil. The complex employs some 3,000 people and generates another 10,000 indirect jobs in
Rio de Janeiro state
Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...
USA
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
(its sister power plant is
Krško Nuclear Power Plant
The Krško Nuclear Power Plant (, JEK, or , NEK, ; ) is located in Vrbina in the City Municipality of Krško, Slovenia. The plant was connected to the power grid on October 2, 1981, and went into commercial operation on January 15, 1983. It was ...
in Slovenia). The
balance of plant
Balance of plant (BOP) is a term generally used in the context of power engineering to refer to all the supporting components and auxiliary systems of a power plant needed to deliver the energy, other than the generating unit itself. These may incl ...
design was subcontracted to Gibbs and Hill (USA) in association with PROMON Engenharia S.A. and construction to Brasileira de Engenharia S.A.
The purchase did not include the transfer of sensitive reactor technology. As a result, Angra II was built with pre-Konvoi German technology, as part of a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Brazil and
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
signed by President
Ernesto Geisel
Ernesto Beckmann Geisel (, ; 3 August 1907 – 12 September 1996) was a Brazilian Army officer and politician, who served as the 29th president of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Born to German Lutheran ...
in 1975. The complex was designed to have three PWR units with a total output of around 3,000 MWe and was to be the first of 4 nuclear plants that would be built up to 1990.
Reactors
The plant has two operating
pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada).
In a PWR, water is used both as ...
s, with a total net capacity of . Its units are rated as follows:
Future developments
The development of Angra III began in 1984 as a Siemens/KWU
pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada).
In a PWR, water is used both as ...
but was halted in 1986. About 70% of the plant's equipment was purchased in 1985 but has been in storage ever since. In June 2007, restarting of work on was approved by the National Council for Energy Policy but was halted again. On 31 May 2010, the
National Nuclear Energy Commission
The National Nuclear Energy Commission (; CNEN) is the Brazilian government agency responsible for orientation, planning, supervision, and control of the Brazil's nuclear program. The agency was created on 10 October 1956. The CNEN is under the d ...
granted a licensee for construction of the third reactor. Construction of the reactor, which has a capacity of 1,350 MWe, begun on 1 June 2010 and was predicted to be operational by 2018.
After stopping construction in 2014, the Brazilian government have decided to auction off the incomplete power station to private investors in 2018. Based on that timetable and the volume of construction works to complete, the Energy deputy minister expected completion to be achieved by 2023.
In November 2021, the Brazilian government rescheduled the conclusion of Angra III for 2026–27, and announced the construction of a fourth nuclear power plant, to be inaugurated in 2031. In February 2022, the consortium that will complete the reactor agreed a contract, which is planned to enable reactor operations to start in 2026.
See also
*
List of power stations in Brazil
The following page lists the power stations in Brazil.
Coal
Gas and oil fired
Gas turbines
Internal combustion engines
Nuclear
Hydroelectric
Solar
Wind
See also
* Electricity sector in Brazil
* Energy policy ...
*
List of nuclear power stations
The following page lists operating nuclear power stations. The list is based on figures from PRIS (Power Reactor Information System) maintained by International Atomic Energy Agency.Nuclear activities in Brazil