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Atucha II nuclear power plant
Topics: Buildings and structures in Argentina Nuclear power stations in Argentina Science and technology in Argentina
Atucha II is a projected nuclear power plant in Argentina, located in Lima, Buenos Aires, on a site next to Atucha I. Its construction started in 1980, but it has never been finished (it is around 80% completed). Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), but was planned to have a much higher power . At the time when it was started, it had the largest reactor pressure vessel of any nuclear power plant worldwide. The total cost is now estimated at US$3.8 billion, or about $5500/kWe, considerably higher than the worldwide mean of about $1500/kWe.
Partly as a response to the energy shortage caused by natural gas crisis of 2004, the issue of Atucha II was taken up by the Argentine government. In 2005 President Nestor Kirchner signed a decree to reactivate the construction and pledged to finish it by 2009Clarin. 4 September 2005. El Gobierno dice que terminara la central Atucha II en cuatro anos. New technicians were hired and a budget of about $120 million was requested for 2006. Eduardo Messi, president of Nucleoelectrica Argentina S.A. (the firm in charge of the plant), told reporters that 93% of the components were either in storage or already installed.
On 23 August 2006 the government announced the re-activation of the national nuclear programme, and updated its promise to finish Atucha II by 2010, devoting a total of 1,850 million pesos ($596/466 million)La Nacion. 24 August 2006. Lanzo el Gobierno un plan de impulso a la energia nuclear. The plant is now slated to generate about 750 MW (5% of Argentina's total energy production).
See also
National Atomic Energy Commission
Atucha I nuclear power plant
Embalse nuclear power plant
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