This afternoon Argentine President Mrs. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, launched the startup phase of Atucha II, the nuclear plant located in Lima, Department of Zarate, Province of Buenos Aires. After the ceremony, a series of tests and individual verification of each one of the plants’ 566 subsystems were carried out. The process will end with the reactor’s startup, steam production and subsequent power generation. The commercial distribution of electric power will start next year.
Atucha II will supply 700 megawatts to the national interconnected system and required an ARS 10.200 investment. It will be the third nuclear power station in the country and together with Atucha I and Embalse, will supply 10% of Argentina’s electric power.
Atucha II project was carried out by Nucleoeléctrica Argentina (NA-SA), the company responsible for the production, distribution and sale of the electric power generated by nuclear plants, in collaboration with all the organizations of the Argentine Nuclear sector: CNEA, Conuar, ENSI, Dioxitek and INVAP.
On its hand, INVAP has been hired by NA-SA for the design and construction of 30 automatic welding machines that will be made at its facilities in Bariloche, and for the provision of a plant for the conditioning of radioactive effluents (contract signed after a public tender process). Besides, a team of 10 INVAP technicians is collaborating with the startup process of the nuclear power station, contributing with their experience and knowledge with reactors built in Egypt, Australia and Algeria.
President Fernandez remarked that the Argentine Nuclear places the country among the world leaders both the in production and peaceful use of this energy, a fact that has been acknowledged by the International Atomic Energy Agency, through a message delivered by its Director General, Yukiya Amano.
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Newsroom, Executive Office of the President
Mrs. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s President Speech at the Atucha II
