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Argentina - stagnation of the program AtomInfo.Ru, PUBLISHED 04.05.2024 After President Javier Miley came to power in Argentina, the country's nuclear program is facing great difficulties. Initially, the situation did not look so serious. Among the new ministers, there were people who spoke favorably about the peaceful atom, although the first signs of an impending crisis were already visible in the first days after Miley's victory. Thus, for political reasons, cooperation with China on the construction of a power unit with the Chinese reactor Hualong One was curtailed. Over the past decade, the Chinese corporation CNNC has made repeated attempts to obtain orders for the construction of power units in Argentina. The first public reports on the agreements reached date back to 2015. CNNC's Argentine plans changed periodically depending on the pauses in the negotiations. At some point, it was talked about the joint construction of a heavy water reactor with the subsequent construction of a unit with a Hualong One. In 2022, an agreement was concluded for the Hualong One alone, and a financing agreement remained to be attached to the contract. The victory of Miley, known for his anti-Chinese position, put an end to these agreements. If the Chinese corporation has not yet lost the desire to gain a foothold in Argentina, then it will have to wait for the next president with another abrupt change of political course. The construction of a heavy-water unit in Argentina was postponed even before the Miley's time for financial reasons. Miley's victory did not change anything - there is no money for this project, and it has been postponed indefinitely again. Thus, the largest project in Argentina remained only CAREM25, a small modular reactor, the construction of which began ten (!!) years ago (in the PRIS database, the construction start date is August 2015). The administration of Miley was ready to continue supporting this project, but immediately warned that the amount of funding would be reduced. In addition, new government officials were alerted by the fact that private capital does not show any significant interest in CAREM25. As it has now turned out, the scale of the funding cuts actually turned out to be such that the already protracted work on the CAREM25 facility was actually stopped. In an interview with Reuters, the head of the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) Adriana Serkis called the budget problem serious not only for large projects, but also for the commission itself. From a formal point of view, the CNEA budget has not been reduced and remains approximately at the level of 2023 - 100 billion pesos, which is now equivalent to 114 million dollars. However, the new budget does not take into account inflation, which is approaching 300% year-on-year. Ms. Serkis told reporters that a number of suppliers and subcontractors involved in the CAREM25 project have already stopped work because they cannot pay their employees. The prospects for another Argentine project, the construction of the RA-10 research reactor, remain vague. It was assumed that the reactor would be launched in 2025, but today no one can say with certainty that the Argentine nuclear scientists will have enough people, resources and money for this. Other news: 417 nuclear units are operating in the world 59 units are under construction. HTR-PM starts commercial operation It is an important pathway for optimizing energy structure, ensuring reliable energy supply, and contributing to the dual carbon goal. Lepse Floating Technical Base Dismantlement Project has been successfully implemented To discharge spent nuclear fuel, the Lepse was placed in a specially designed and built onshore sheltering site. This made it possible to prevent any weather effects. |
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