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Nuclear Project in Brazil Receives Environmental Licence24 Jul 08The government's plans to expand Brazil's nuclear power capacity moved a step forward with the approval of a preliminary environmental licence for a project to complete Angra-3.
Nuclear Project Receives Preliminary Environmental Approval Brazil's environmental agency Ibama has awarded a preliminary environmental licence to a project to complete a third nuclear power plant in Brazil, Angra-3. The licence stipulates 60 conditions that the state nuclear company Eletronuclear must comply with including coming up with a solution to the problem of how to dispose of nuclear waste, ensuring the independent monitoring of radiation levels, submitting a report into seismic activity in the region, making investments in basic sanitation projects in nearby cities, and adopting a national park. Despite the tough conditions, the receipt of a preliminary environmental licence represents an important milestone for the project and will increase the chances of construction work starting in September as previously announced by the Minister of Energy and Mines Edison Lobão (see Brazil: 8 July 2008: Brazil to Resume Work on Third Nuclear Plant in September). Several other permits are still needed including a licence from Ibama to install the plant and a construction permit from the National Commission of Nuclear Energy, but the environmental licence was the most difficult to secure especially considering the strong opposition to the project received from the country's previous Environment Minister. The new Minister Carlos Minc yesterday said that he was not in favour of the completion of Angra-3, but that the licence was “practically concluded” when he took office. The 60 conditions will now have to be met before Ibama gives the final go ahead for construction work to begin. The project expected to be completed by 2013/14 will require a total investment of 7.3 billion reais. Outlook and Implications Construction on Angra-3 was abandoned 20 years ago, but in June 2007 the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) approved a project to proceed with the completion of the partially built nuclear power plant—a decision later affirmed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (see Brazil: 26 June 2007: Government Gives Nuclear Project Go-Ahead in Brazil). Brazil's two existing nuclear plants have a combined capacity of just over 2,000MW and the completion of a third plant would raise nuclear capacity to over 3,350MW. The government is also planning to build three new nuclear power plants and if the Angra-3 project gets the final go ahead it will be easier to argue the case for the additional plants. The government's increased interest in nuclear power follows a reduction in confidence in Bolivia as a natural gas supplier and concerns that without large power plants future electricity production will not be able to keep up with rising demand. Recent tenders for two large hydroelectric projects in the Amazon Basin and the resumption of the Angra-3 project mean that supply risks after 2012 have been considerably reduced even though all these projects continue to attract strong opposition from environmental groups. In the case of Angra-3, one of the groups that have been the most active in opposing the project has been the local branch of the international campaign group Greenpeace, which earlier took out a court injunction in a bid to block the project on legal grounds. Further protests by environmental activists are likely, but the government appears determined to remain on its current path towards more nuclear power generation in Brazil. |
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