After announcing the suspension of the agreement with China for the construction of the 4th and 5th nuclear power plants in our country, Marcos Peña reversed and re-floated the part of the agreement that plans to build the Hualong 1 (HPR 1000) plant, of uranium enriched, in Río Negro. From the nuclear sector claim that progress is made with the entire pact that stipulated, before, the construction of the CANDU nuclear reactor, more apt to transfer local scientific know-how , impacting employment, science and national industry.
The Undersecretary of Nuclear Energy of the Nation, Julián Gadano, spoke with a local media “Notes” on this and other topics. We select the key points of the interview.
– What is the reason for the suspension in the agreement with China for nuclear power plants?
– We are negotaiting the issue of nuclear power plants, which were never canceled, but we need to restructure to contribute to the government’s objective of meeting the deficit targets of 1.7% for this year and 1.3% for 2019. That sense affects a lot of projects, but the government never canceled them. This leads to many alternatives, one is to postpone it, another is to structure it so that the State takes on debt but not deficit.
– The government authorized the fifth power station but the nuclear sector demands the construction of a CANDU-type power plant (the 4th), which allows more local scientific knowledge to be incorporated.
– That is indeed the case, the CANDU technology center is the one that allows the greatest transfer of know-how . The CANDU is interesting because it is an industrial project, that is, we know how to do it here. If it were not like that, it’s not very interesting, because it’s a technology that has its years already. There are Argentine companies that worked very well in Embalse. For example Pescarmona manufactured steam generators, CONUAR made almost all fuel tubes. Here two options open, either we continue with Atucha III, for which we must build another financial scheme, so that it does not impact the deficit, or we build the fifth plant, which is definitely a more modern model, and the localization will be still be substantial.
– One of the criticisms from the nuclear sector is that the construction of the Hualong 1 power plant is a “turnkey” project that makes the transfer of knowledge impossible.
– Definitely not. One of the positive characteristics of the nuclear sector is that it was always at the forefront of innovation. We have to know how to handle enriched uranium technology. But, besides, I do not know where they got that China does not transfer technology. They transfer technology, because they know that they will do it better, faster and cheaper. Much of the Hualong plant’s technology is not yours. They are totally willing to transfer technology in fuels, for example, which is the one that interests us the most.
– And what possibilities are there for this transfer to be achieved towards this other nuclear power plant model?
– China has no problem in localization. The problem is the cost because doing things in Argentina is more expensive than in China. So the question is how much cost are we willing to incorporate? That depends on how we structure the contract, because this is finally paid by the user.
– With what proposal, then, is Argentina’s lack of know-how in uranium enrichment completed ?
– Atucha I was not a reactor of national development, but Argentina went to Hamburg, put ten people there and we absorbed that technology. That is what we want to do with China. China is totally open to us to send people to live there one year. Like the Germans in the 1960s, they want to sell to Argentina, because it makes them a global provider and we are a global customer. Then we have to use that advantage. The alternative is Russia. Well, Russia is not very fond of technology transfer and that is not strategic for us. But the Chinese model is a different model where an interesting technology transfer is at stake, and because they also want us as partners.
– Finally, will the installation of the fifth plant be in Sierra Grande, in Río Negro?
– Rio Negro has a problem to solve: they have an antinuclear law. But they are the headquarters and owners of INVAP, there is the Conea. It would seem a very bad decision for us not to host this project. First, because the nuclear power plant is part of the national technological development, secondly it is clean and stable electric power. A nuclear power plant involves an investment of between 7 to 7.5 Billion US Dollars and provides permanent jobs to 600 – 700 persons. Imagine what that implies for the province.
