ENERGY-BRAZIL: Funds Authorised to Finish Second Nuclear Plant

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dic 13 (IPS) - The Brazilian Senate authorised funds to resume work that was suspended seven years ago on the country's second nuclear power-plant, the state-run Furnas Electric Power Stations company announced on Tuesday.

When it is finished, the Angra II will break two world records: it will be the most expensive nuclear power station in the world and the plant that has taken the longest to build, construction having begun in 1976 and not projected to finish until 1998.

The first of eight plants set to be built as part of an accord signed with Germany in 1975, the Angra II has already cost the state treasury 4.67 billion dollars, while the Senate decision has authorised 1.3 billion additional dollars to finish the construction.

Despite the delays in construction suffered by the project, Furnas, the state-run company that administers the generation of energy in the state of Rio de Janeiro, has spent 100 million dollars a year in maintenance costs alone - without taking financing costs into account.

The Brazilian government has now decided it makes more sense to authorise funds to finish the plant than to lose the nearly five billion dollars that have already been invested.

The Angra II will generate 1,300 mewatts/hour at a cost three times that of a hydro-electric plant with the same capacity.

Furnas will immediately invest 180 million dollars to resume construction, which will provide jobs to 3,000 people and indirect employment to 4,000.

Nearly seven billion dollars - 2.3 billion of which were interest payments - have gone to the Brazilian-German nuclear accord over the last 20 years.

Furnas also announced that Angra I - built with U.S. technology - will begin to function after having been closed down 20 months ago due to defects in the plant's safety system.

If all goes as planned, in 1998 the two Angra plants will cover 30 percent of the state of Rio de Janeiro's energy needs.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service