Brazilian nuclear utility Eletronuclear (part of state-owned power company Eletrobras) has published the responses of public consultation on the proposed bidding contract for the construction of unit 3 at the Angra NPP. In July, Eletronuclear extended the deadline for receiving the responses but said the extension would not impact the company’s planning. Eletronuclear has now received 287 suggestions from national and international agents, which are available on the company’s website.
Angra NPP units 1&2 currently generate about 3% of Brazil’s electricity. Construction of Angra 3 with a Siemens/KWU 1,405 MWe pressurised water reactor began in 1984 but was suspended after two years. The project resumed in 2006 and first concrete was poured in 2010. But work stopped again in 2015 following allegations of corruption involving government contracts. The unit was then 65% complete.
In 2022, the newly appointed Eletronuclear ordered construction to restart but in April 2023 the city government of Angra dos Reis ordered work to stop again citing various issues including the promised payment of compensation.
In March 2024, Eletronuclear launched a public consultation on completion of Angra 3. It said the amount invested so far is BRL7.8bn ($1.5bn) and to complete the plant a further BRL20bn will be needed. Some 67% of the civil work has already been carried out. In June, Eletronuclear won its appeal in the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, removing the embargo on work to complete Angra 3. Eletronuclear committed to maintaining an open dialogue with the City of Angra dos Reis on its priority projects.
The public consultation was developed with technical support from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES – Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) and requested suggestions for improvements in documents related to Engineering, Purchasing & Construction Management (EPC) services, including the Risk Matrix and other contractual complements.
Eletronuclear says, it is awaiting the completion of independent studies, currently being developed by BNDES. The studies will be analysed by the Energy Research Company (EPE – Empresa de Pesquisa Energética), the Ministry of Mines & Energy and the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE – Conselho Nacional de Política Energética), which will be responsible for defining the grant and approving the commercialisation tariff for the energy generated by Angra 3.
Independent studies on the completion of Angra 3 were commissioned in 2019, during the government of Jair Bolsonaro, when the project was included in the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI). A first version was completed by BNDES and delivered in November 2022. With the change of government in 2023, however, it was decided to review the studies, which are being conducted by Tractebel, part of the Engie group, to evaluate the technical, economic and legal plausibility of the project.
