Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, about 10% of the electricity comes from 3 operational

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

s: Embalse, a

CANDU reactor The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide ( heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. C ...

, and Atucha I and II, two

PHWR A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water ( deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium. T ...

German designs. In 2001, the Atucha plant was modified to burn Slightly Enriched Uranium, making it the first PHWR reactor to burn that fuel worldwide. Atucha was originally planned to be a complex with various reactors. Atucha 2 (similar to Atucha 1 but more powerful) began to produce energy on June 3, 2014, and it is expected to produce 745MWh. Plans for Atucha III, a third reactor in the Atucha complex, have been announced. Argentina also has various research reactors, and exports nuclear technology. Nucleoeléctrica of Argentina and

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed this ...

are negotiating over the contracts and project delivery model for a new 740 MWe CANDU nuclear power plant. In July 2014, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Argentine President Cristina Fernández Kirchner, during a visit to the country. In February 2015, Argentine president

Cristina Kirchner Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

and

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

signed a cooperation agreement, and the build of a Hualong One design power station has been proposed. In December 2015 a new

uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 ...

plant to manufacture fuel for Argentina's nuclear plants, located in Pilcaniyeu, was inaugurated. The plant will use both

gaseous diffusion Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce enriched uranium by forcing gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) through semipermeable membranes. This produces a slight separation between the molecules containing uranium-235 (235U) and uranium-2 ...

and more modern laser techniques. China and Argentina had agreed a contract to build a 700 MWe CANDU 6 derived reactor. Its construction was planned to start in 2018 at Atucha, but it was indefinitely suspended by

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previo ...

's government due to financial issues. The building of a 1000 MWe Hualong One plant is planned to start in 2020.

Reactors

Commercial

Research reactors

Legislation

Provinces that have banned the construction of nuclear power plants are:

Chaco

*Provincial Law, Nº 3902 **''Article 1: Declare the territory of the Chaco Province nuclear-free zone.''

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...

*Provincial Law, Nº 4207 **''Article 1: Prohibits throughout the territory of the Corrientes Province, installing nuclear plants.''

Entre Ríos

*Provincial Law, Nº 8785 **''Article 3: It is forbidden the installation of nuclear power plants''

La Pampa

*Provincial Constitution **''Article 18: La Pampa is declared a nuclear-free zone, to the extent determined by a special law in order to preserve the environment. Any damage it causes to the environment will generate liability under the applicable legal regulations or as may be provided.''

Río Negro

*Provincial Law, Nº 5227 **''Article 1: It is forbidden in the territory of the Province of Río Negro the installation of nuclear power generation plants.''

San Luis

*Provincial Law, Nº 5567 **''Article 1: Declare the territory of the San Luis Province a nuclear-free zone.''

Santa Fe

*Provincial Law, Nº 10753 **''Article 1: It is forbidden in the Santa Fe Province, the installation of plants and/or temporary or permanent nuclear deposits.'' **''Article 3: Declare the Santa Fe Province a nuclear-free zone.''

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

*Provincial Constitution **''Article 56: It is forbidden in the Province. 1 - Conducting tests or nuclear tests of any kind for military purposes. 2 - Generation of energy from nuclear sources. 3 - Introduction and disposal of nuclear, chemical, biological waste or any other type or nature proven to be toxic, hazardous or potentially in the future.''Tierra del Fuego Constitution
/ref>

Tucumán

*Provincial Law, Nº 6253 **''Article 47: It is forbidden in the province: b) Generate energy from nuclear sources until the international scientific community works out an appropriate treatment for nuclear waste.''

Notes

: Dismantled 1984-1989 after a criticality accident. Fuel removed to the United States in 2007.

References

{{Americas topic, Nuclear energy in