"Brazil has begun a process to identify sites for the new nuclear power units it plans to have in operation by 2050. The Ministry of Mines and Energy has secured cooperation of specialists at Cepel for a siting study.
"'An increase in the participation of nuclear energy in the Brazilian energy mix is important to reduce the impacts of water crises on electricity generation,' said Cepel. The organisation's name is the Portuguese acronym for Centre for Electric Energy Research and it is a subsidiary of the state utility Eletrobras.
"On 13 January, Cepel and the Ministry of Mines and energy announced they had signed a cooperation agreement regarding siting the previous week.
"Brazil has historically relied on hydro for as much as 80% of its electricity, but changes in rainfall patterns produced droughts that reduced this to 65% by 2018. The country only has one nuclear power plant, Angra, which produces about 3% of Brazilian power from two reactors that have operated since 1982 and 2000. Construction of a third reactor at Angra is expected to get under way again after a restructuring of the stalled project."
Photo: Angra, Brazil's 2-unit nuclear plant, will soon have a new addition to the family.