Completion of ETN reactor in Brazil delayed amid financial woes

AREVA said on Monday that it has temporarily slowed construction of Brazil's Eletrobrás Eletronuclear’s (ETN) Angra 3 nuclear power plant reactor in Rio de Janeiro due to difficulties in securing financing to complete the project.

AREVA signed a contract worth approximately $1.4 billion, under which the company agreed to supply engineering services and components, and the reactor’s instrumentation and control system.

In a statement, AREVA said that once financing for the completion of the Angra 3 reactor is secured, work would resume.

The ETN complex currently houses two reactors, the Angra 1 and the Angra 2, with the third reactor currently under construction. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) said the two reactors currently provide approximately 3 percent of electricity in the country. The country's first nuclear operations began in 1982, and the second reactor at the ETN facility came online in 2000. The WNA said the government is aiming to bring four reactors online by 2029.

Together, both Angra units produce 1,896 megawatts of electricity on an annual basis. The Angra 3 unit has been designed as a twin unit to the second reactor. WNA said Angra 2 provides 1,270 megawatts.