Angra 3’s technical-economic feasibility will only become a reality if the government reviews the plant’s tariff, which is currently at 244 Reals (USD 62,60) per MWh, says Eletronuclear’s president, Leonam Guimarães. The company claims the tariff must be readjusted to 400 Reals (USD 102,60) / MWh.
Eletronuclear’s study took into consideration the entire thermal dispatch of last year and noted that 10 GW of thermals were used to maintain the country’s energy supply and help in the recovery of hydroelectric reservoirs. Of this amount, 2 GW came from Angra 1 and Angra 2.
Throughout the year, thermal power cost 59 billion Reals ( 1,51 Billion USD), the company estimated. If Angra 3 would have operated in 2017 for 11 months (considering a month of shutdown for refueling), the total cost would have been 5 billion Reals, considering a tariff of 400 Reals/ MWh. That is, a savings of 900 million Reals (230,5 million USD) in the total cost of energy generated in the interconnected system by replacing the more expensive thermal power for nuclear generation, according to the study.
The director of the Brazilian Association of Nuclear Energy (Aben), Marcelo Gomes da Silva, calculated that Angra 3 can support hydroelectric plants to balance the inconsistency of the renewable energies, such as wind and solar. The price of Angra 1 and Angra 2 today is defined by the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel), but the value of Angra 3 energy is established by the Ministry of Mining and Energy (MME).
The company advocates a solution for the continuation of the construction of the plant still under the government of the president Michel Temer. For Leonam, the more time passes, the harder it becomes to retake the plant. The works of Angra 3 were paralyzed in 2015 due to the investigations of the Lava Jato operation. Guimarães said that it takes 14 billion Reals (USD 3,58 Billion) to complete the plant while the cancellation will require spending of 12 billion Reals (USD 3,07 Billion).
Source: Brasil Energia
