Eletronuclear cost-savings, plans for Angra 3 operation in 2031

Monday, 10 February 2025

Brazil has two operating reactors - Angra 1 and Angra 2 - which generate about 3% of the country’s electricity. Work on the Angra 3 project - to feature a Siemens/KWU 1405 MW pressurised water reactor - began in 1984 but was suspended two years later, before construction began. The scheme was resurrected in 2006, with first concrete in 2010. However, amid a corruption probe into government contracts, construction of the unit was halted for a second time in 2015, when it was 65% complete.

The project resumed again in November 2022 - at the time of the project's revitalisation, Eletronuclear's aim was to start operations by the end of 2026. However, work halted again in April 2023 after disputes with the municipality of the City of Angra dos Reis over agreements relating to "environmental compensation" payments and also changes relating to the granted planning permission.

The company is currently awaiting a government decision on completing Angra 3 - it said in September that a study by Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development had concluded that the cost of abandoning construction of the part-built nuclear power unit could be about BRL21 billion (USD3.7 billion), which it says was about the same as the cost of completing it.

It says the unit's generating capacity will be sufficient to supply 4.5 million inhabitants and would also create around 7000 direct jobs at its peak, in addition to a much larger number of indirect jobs. It also noted that about BRL800 million in Angra 3 equipment was used in Angra 2 and between BRL500-600 million in nuclear fuel, which had been initially purchased for Angra 3, had been used in Angra 2.

Eletronuclear says its restructuring plan was approved by the board at the end of January and will come into effect on 1 April. It will reduce management levels and end overlapping activities, with management positions cut from 116 to 73. The changes are together said to be likely to bring annual savings of about BRL 3 million.

In its announcement, the company says it aims to reduce spending on materials and third party services - by reviewing contracts, and ensuring optimisation of processes - to help improve the economic viability of the company and strategic projects such as Angra 3.

It said "the new organisational chart is in line with the current stage of the Angra 3 project. Previous planning predicted the plant would be completed in 2028, but with the new estimates, it is expected to start operating in 2031. In this way, the new format allows for better use of labour, reallocating employees who were focused on the unit's operations and engineering services to the two plants in operation (Angra 1 and 2)".

Raul Lycurgo, president of Eletronuclear, said: "This organisational reformulation allows for a leaner and more efficient model, aligned with good sector practices, without compromising the safety and quality of the services provided."