Copy of NEWS
Eletronuclear holds a public bidding session for the Angra 3 plant works
Eletronuclear held, last Tuesday (06/29), the public session for the opening of bid proposals for civil works services and part of the electromechanical assembly provided for in the Angra 3 Critical Path Acceleration Plan. aims to advance some of the plant's construction activities even before the company hires the EPC specialist – EPC stands for engineering, procurement and construction management, in English translation – who will undertake the overall work of the unit. The highest ranked bidder must present the qualification documents to be verified, which is why the name of the first place will not be disclosed yet. After the end of this analysis, a new session will be scheduled to inform the bidders of the result and open a deadline for appeals. If the highest ranked bidder is disqualified, the second place bidder will be called to present his documentation. The resources needed to perform the services that are the object of this bidding come from the Advance for Future Capital Increase (Afac) approved by Eletrobras in July of last year. In 2020, the holding released BRL 1.052 billion to Eletronuclear. For 2021, an additional BRL 2.447 billion is planned, of which BRL 850 million has already been released. The total amount of Afac is included in Eletrobras' Business and Management Master Plan (PDNG) 2021-2025. Among the main measures included in the Angra 3 Critical Path Acceleration Plan is the completion of the concrete superstructure of the plant's reactor building. In addition, an important part of the electromechanical assembly will be carried out, which includes the closing of the containment steel ball and the installation of the spent fuel pool, the polar bridge and the semi-gantry crane. Eletronuclear expects that the contract with the company that won the bid will be signed in the second half of the year and that the works will resume by the end of this year. The current rate of completion of the construction of Angra 3 is 65%. The company expects the plant to start operating in November 2026. Structuring the business model Also on Tuesday, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) announced the signing of a contract between the institution and the Angra Eurobras NES consortium , winner of the competition for the structuring of the project for the resumption and completion of the Angra 3 works. The contracting of the consortium is part of the technical services that BNDES has provided to Eletronuclear since 2019, with a view to structuring the legal, economic and operational model of partnership with private initiative for the construction, maintenance and operation of the plant. For more information click here. It is important to point out that this process is independent of the one that will result in the contracting of the works and assembly service within the scope of the Angra 3 Critical Path Acceleration Plan and also of the one that the Epecista will hire to complete the construction of the unit. The first is the responsibility of BNDES, while the last two are of Eletronuclear. Source: ELETRONUCLEAR
TRACTEBEL LEADS CONSORTIUM THAT WILL STRUCTURE THE COMPLETION OF ANGRA 3
Resumption of works will be the theme of the panel at XII SIEN
The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) signed a contract with the Angra Eurobras NES consortium, which won the competition for the structuring of the project for the resumption and completion of the Angra 3 nuclear power plant, which had been paralyzed since 2015.
The resumption of the construction works of the third plant of the Almirante Álvaro Alberto Nuclear Power Plant (CNAAA), located in Angra dos Reis, State of Rio, is at the center of the debates of the XII International Seminar on Nuclear Energy - SIEN 2021, scheduled for the 25th. , 26th and 27th of August next. CNAAA comprises two more plants: Angra 1 and Angra 2, both already in commercial operation.
The Angra 3 plant will have an installed capacity of 1,405 MW and approximately 82,000 m² of built area, the equivalent of ten football fields. With planned investments of 15.5 billion over the next five years, Angra 3 focuses all the attention of the sector.
Historic
Started in 1984, construction of the unit was interrupted twice — the last time in 2015, when just over 60% of the project had already been completed. Scheduled to come into operation at the end of 2026, Angra 3 will generate more than 10 million MWh per year, enough energy to supply approximately 6 million homes. Furthermore, as it is a generation without dependence on weather conditions, the plant will contribute to increasing the reliability of the National Interconnected System (SIN).
The contracting of the consortium is part of the technical services that BNDES provides to Eletronuclear — the plant’s owner — since 2019, aiming to structure the legal, economic and operational model of partnership with the private sector, for the construction, maintenance and exploitation of Angra 3. Formed by the companies Tractebel Engineering Ltda. of carrying out the work.
The Tractebel group, whose history begins in the 19th century, has experience in operating with nuclear energy in several countries around the world. Empresarios Agrupados is a Spanish engineering company, created in 1971, operating in the electricity generation sector, with experience in the implementation of nuclear power plants.
“The contracting of the consortium, composed of companies with extensive experience in advising the implementation of nuclear power plants in the world, will allow the project to be projected to the market with the necessary confidence to attract first-line construction partners and a wide range of financing agents in Brazil and in the world. ”, explains Leonardo Cabral, director of Privatizations at BNDES.
According to the model proposed by the bank, the works will be resumed through EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), a modality of contracting engineering services in which the contracted construction company will be responsible not only for the execution of the work itself, but also for possible additions to the engineering project and for the purchase of materials and equipment necessary for the completion of the work. Angra 3 may have one or more EPC contracts, depending on the technical recommendations to be made by the contracted consortium.
According to Lidiane Delesderrier Gonçalves, superintendent of the BNDES' Business Structuring and Divestment Area, the Angra Eurobras NES consortium will also be responsible for advising on the contracting of construction companies. "This advice, which will include the evaluation of the technical proposals of the proposing companies, is considered of paramount importance to guarantee a successful selection process, attracting companies of recognized technical quality", he says.
SEE 2021
Respecting all Covid-19 protocols, XII SIEN will be 100% online. Once again, the SIEN will bring together, on the third day, debates focused on communication issues in the nuclear sector, a strategic theme to make society aware of the socioeconomic benefits of radiation technology.
In addition to the resumption of Angra 3, the SIEN 2021 agenda will also discuss other important projects for the nuclear sector, such as the definition of locations to house the six new plants provided for in the National Energy Plan (PNE 2050), Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) , use of radiation in the oil industry and in the treatment of effluents, among others.
SIEN 2021 brings two novelties in the online format: the Virtual Business and Technology Fair, rescuing EXPONUCLEAR in virtual mode; and a Business Round, also online, to give visibility to new opportunities throughout the nuclear industry chain. EXPONUCLEAR virtual preserves and expands all the benefits and functionalities of the face-to-face model, with personalized and interactive stands, also offering:
§ Availability for visitation for 30 days (one month during and after SIEN)
§ Catalog with booth options to choose from
§ Inserting videos
§ External links to websites
§ External links to PDFs
§ External links to videos
§ External links to conferences
§ External links to virtual meetings
§ Informational popup.
(Source: BNDES and ELETRONUCLEAR press office)
More information
Tel.: (55 21) 3301-3208 / 99699-1954
siennuclear@gmail.com/carlos.emmiliano@gmail.com
www.sienbrasil.com.br
www.eventoscasaviva.com.br
PRESIDENT OF ELETRONUCLEAR SAYS IN INTERVIEW THAT ANGRA 3 PARTNER WILL BE KNOWN IN 2022
AUGUST 25, 26 & 27, 2021 BOOK THIS DATE
The President of Eletronuclear, Leonam Guimarães, gave an interview to the Alesfe Talks Program, on TV Senado, a space for lawyers and consultants of the Federal Senate to ask questions about relevant topics in Brazil, on the topic “Nuclear Energy”. Leonm Guimarães spoke about two important points of Provisional Measure 998/2020, which deals with structural changes in the Brazilian energy system, which is now being processed as a Bill, and will be debated again in February in the Senate, in addition to other matters that deserve this reproduction. The main excerpts from this conversation, Leonam clarified many points about the resumption of Angra 3 works: – The modeling of the resumption of Angra 3 is a topic that has been studied for a long time, it gained momentum at the end of 2017 and really started to sustain itself under the current government. The Angra 3 plant was defined as a priority project of the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI). For this, an inter-ministerial working group was created, which advised the current PPI committee. This committee determined that we hire BNDES to structure the business model. From that time until the BNDES' entry into this work, we considered in the internal studies the possibility of the entry of minority private international partners. That's what we thought. Throughout the BNDES studies, it was demonstrated that this alternative, despite being desirable and interesting, is not indispensable and necessary for the economic and financial viability of the enterprise. BNDES has been working on this model and has completed its initial report. Today, the PPI Council took the decision to send this study to the CNPE to monitor the implementation of the Angra 3 plant. This work continues to be carried out by BNDES, in its second phase, with the expectation that in 2022 the great EPC contract for the completion of the work. Today, the BNDES studies are in progress, with a series of steps necessary for this international bidding process to be carried out for the contracting of the epcista. The project is on track and is moving forward. Our objective and that of the electrical system planning is the entry of Angra 3 by the end of 2026. To ensure that this happens, Eletrobrás is providing investment support to what we call the project's Critical Path Acceleration Program. In other words, the objective is to resume the project in those parts that are part of the critical path, in order to ensure that the date of entry into commercial operation of the plant is not compromised. This investment plan by Eletrobrás in Angra 3 is the largest investment foreseen within its business master plan. The two things are coupled, working in parallel and harmonically to effectively fulfill the planned electrical energy expansion plan. The President of Eletronuclear also spoke about the observations of the Federal Audit Court (TCU): – There is great concern in the format from a legal point of view and also from the point of view of the guidelines and determinations of the TCU. It is also important to mention that all actions and activities related to Eletrobrás' investments in Angra 3 are in progress. Important investments have already been allocated in 2020. For this year, the order of magnitude of these investments is a little higher, which will allow the start of several important work fronts. The objective is not to waste time until the moment of hiring the Epecista - which is a relatively long job -, ensuring that by the end of 2026 the plant will be in operation. The resumption of work is already underway. It will converge precisely with the work that the BNDES is doing. Always remembering also that this issue runs in parallel with the capitalization process of Eletrobrás. These activities come together for a solution that addresses all these complex aspects involved. For some critics of nuclear power generation, the value of R$ 480.00 per MW/hour is too high and would harm the consumer. But this was demystified by Leonam Guimarães, who gave a definitive explanation on this issue: – This view that the consumer will be harmed is quite wrong. It assumes that electricity is a commodity, which is not in line with reality. In reality, the value of electricity depends on the characteristic of the source, the place and the time at which it is produced. For example, in the electrical system there are sources that generate basic energy, which generate energy all the time. There are also sources of an intermittent nature, such as wind and solar energy. And there are still sources with longer-term seasonality, such as hydroelectricity. Finally, you have conventional thermal energy sources, generated by fossil energy, which are extremely sensitive to the volatility of these fuel prices. So, in reality, one cannot make direct comparisons by unit price of the sources. What matters to the consumer is the total cost of the system, a value that will be shared by all of them. In the flag system, the hydric conditions increase the thermal dispatch, using more expensive sources. If we did a simulation with Angra 3 operating in Brazil at R$ 480 per MWh in recent years, the total cost of the system would be reduced and not increased. Despite this number (R$ 480/MWh), alone, it is higher than the cost of the kilowatt/hour generated by solar energy. The difference is that the flags are dispatching more and more expensive thermal energy, well above the R$ 480 value of Angra 3. This means that the impact of Angra 3 is that it is no longer necessary to dispatch thermal energy more expensive than R $480 over a year. So, the analysis of what is being passed on to the consumer cannot be the unit value of the production price of a source. What must be evaluated is the cost of the system as a whole – with and without Angra 3. In a recent simulation carried out by the National System Operator (ONS), at the request of the Ministry of Mines and Energy and presented at a public hearing at the request of the IBAMA, it was clear that by 2020 the cost of the system would drop if Angra 3 was operating. So, in reality, you are not passing on cost to the consumer, but rather reducing the total cost of the system and therefore reducing the cost of each individual consumer. The difficulty in the matter was the financing of the Angra 3 Nuclear Power Plant, which was another topic addressed in the interview: – Ground zero for the construction of the plant is June 2009. Ground zero for the construction of a nuclear power plant is always the first concreting of the slab of the reactor building. The work done previously does not characterize the beginning of construction. The great Achilles heel of nuclear power is that the capital cost is very high. It is an investment of a large volume of resources, with a very long period of maturation to give the expected return. This involves high risks, which ends up raising the cost of capital in these ventures. The interruption of the Angra 3 works, after its formal beginning, happened due to the lack of own resources to match the financing made to BNDES. This was the first reason for the interruption of the works. Then came Lava Jato, which made a solution to a new financial equation for the enterprise unfeasible. At this value, determined by the CNPE, based on the EPE study, it eliminates the costs of inefficiency. That is, all non-productive costs that occurred during that period. This value is compatible with and lower than that of plants that are currently being built at an advanced stage, such as the Hinkley Point B Plant, in the United Kingdom, and Akkuyu, in Turkey. One is a little more potent than Angra 3 and the other a little less. But they are very similar to the price of R$ 480, according to the exchange rate at the time. When this assessment was made, it was quite compatible, with Angra 3 being inferior to these two plants. In fact, that price has been expunged. These loss values were even written off, estimated by the company that was hired by Eletrobrás to investigate eventual deviations and irregularities committed by the company's managers. In other words, these unproductive aspects are not included in this value. This reference price of R$ 480 was not established by Eletronuclear, but by the CNPE through the EPE study. And then we arrive at MP 998, which, in one of its articles, says that the BNDES would establish the energy sales prices. The MP also establishes, in very clear criteria, how this price is calculated and what must be taken into account by the BNDES and the criteria. This provides important legal certainty for investment in the enterprise. Eletrobrás is making an investment and needs to be sure that the energy value is compatible with the investment to be made. Leonam Guimarães also spoke about the obstacles to the growth of the use of nuclear energy in Brazil and the great possibility of expansion of this sector: – The biggest problem faced by the production chain of nuclear energy has to do with nuclear fuel. In the Brazilian situation, nuclear fuel currently accounts for 18% of the cost of operating a plant, also considering the remuneration of capital. As we have a very small production park, the fuel production scale is very low. And on a low scale, the costs end up being higher. Eletronuclear, which is owned by Eletrobrás, is a company independent of the National Treasury. In this way, it has access to the capital market and financing. INB, which has a monopoly on radioactive materials, is a company dependent on the Treasury. In turn, it does not have access to the capital market, financing, and has great difficulty in expanding its production. To make the production of nuclear fuel economically viable, it is necessary to gain scale. For that, it has to produce more and introduce itself in the international market, becoming an actor in the international market of nuclear fuel. Brazil has large uranium reserves and the technological mastery of all stages of its processing. In other words, the country meets all the conditions to effectively be an important player in the international nuclear fuel market. Bearing in mind that stability, from a political point of view, is a very important factor. Today, several players in the international fuel market come from countries where there is a certain political and economic instability. Brazil would add security of supply to the international market. Remembering that nuclear energy generates 10% of the world's electrical energy and there are 442 plants in operation on the planet. In other words, increasing the scale of nuclear fuel production, through participation in the international market, is an element that would strengthen this production chain here in Brazil. Then there's the manufacturing of components. There is an important industrial park adapted to the manufacture of large components, which is Nuclep. The company is also involved with the Navy in the manufacture of submarines. Nuclep has all the conditions to participate in this international component market. Nuclep is also dependent on the Treasury and does not have access to financing. As these two companies will remain under the umbrella of the state, there would be no quick fix. It would have to be staggered. It is necessary to achieve a gradual independence, especially from INB, but also from Nuclep. A big step has already been taken at INB, highlighted by the President of the Republic, because Brazil has returned to producing uranium concentrate. The country spent several years without production for technical and economic reasons. Production has resumed and production is expected with great anticipation at the Santa Quitéria Mine, in Ceará, which is a phosphate mine, whose by-product is uranium. With this production, we could start thinking about meeting 100% of domestic demand, but also participating in the international market, as a way to escape dependence on the Treasury. Undoubtedly, transforming INB and Nuclep into public companies is the first step towards removing minority partners and, with greater autonomy, provide decision-making for these next steps. Angra 3 is a great lever to increase production scale. – Under pressure from environmentalists, generally without technical knowledge, the clarifications of the President of Eletronuclear are definitive, especially when referring to nuclear accidents and nuclear waste: – It is curious to call the accident in the United States, Three Miles Island, as a major accident. What accident is this that caused no casualties and no damage to the environment? It was a loss of great proportions, yes, but for the owner of the plant, because it became inoperative. But no casualties and zero damage to the environment. Fukushima. Unforeseen natural phenomenon caused the accident. No one died from radiation The Chernobyl accident was an accident that had not the technological but the cultural nature of the former Soviet Union. The culture that existed until then made it possible to put productivity ahead of safety. The head of the plant decided to make a decision contrary to the plant's operating manual. From there, more and more, the greater concept of security was born. In other words, Chernobyl was not a technological problem, but a cultural problem for those who operated the plant. The reality today is completely different. That was 30 years ago. Today, the reality in Russia is very different. The Fukushima accident was caused by a natural phenomenon with very low predictability. It wasn't expected to happen. It was an earthquake that the plant withstood perfectly, followed by a tsunami with a height at which the plant was not designed. I say again: how many radiation victims were caused by Fukushima? None. The victims of the incident were due to a hasty and unplanned evacuation. Today, by the way, this is a topic that is discussed a lot. In relation to what is said about the so-called nuclear waste, the used fuel element is still spoken as if it were garbage. From a legal point of view, neither in Brazil nor in many countries of the world, the nuclear fuel used is garbage. For a very simple reason: there is a huge energy potential still in the fuel used, which can be used by future generations, because it is a positive legacy. The economic and financial feasibility of taking advantage of this potential is limited, because it is very expensive. Calling spent nuclear fuel waste is a strictly political decision, because high-activity waste accounts for 5 to 10% of the total mass of this fuel. The remainder of the mass amount of this fuel can be recycled and is already being recycled in several places around the world. Not only in France and Russia, but also in the UK and Japan. The operator's responsibility is to keep used fuel in safe long-term storage conditions. And we are in the process of licensing a facility of this type. This installation is strictly identical to more than two hundred similar installations that exist all over the world. Especially in the United States, which has almost a quarter of the nuclear industry's international park. We are doing exactly the same thing as what is done in America, Western Europe and Japan. Questioning the security of this storage is a very strange thing. In fact, the winner of the bid we opened for the construction of this storage is an American company that has already installed more than 70 units of this type worldwide. There is no reason to question such an installation. Just look around, look at what is done in the world and who is doing this installation. SOURCE: TV SENADO / PETRONOTICIAS
FROM THE FRYING PAN TO THE EMBER
José Luiz Alquéres*
The Eletrobras capitalization/privatization MP, after the vote on the text with the rapporteur's amendments by the plenary of the Chamber, reaches the Senate this week. As expected, nothing good could come of this way of dealing with such an important matter. An eminently technical and complex issue will be decided at the mercy of pressure from lobbies and not from scholars, such as the giants who built our electricity sector, such as John Cotrim, Mário Bhering, Camillo Penna (who left us at the age of 95 last week), Dias Leite, Otávio Marcondes Ferraz, Lucas Lopes, Eliseu Rezende, General Costa Cavalcanti, Luiz Anibal Fernandes, Souza Dias, Brito and other great engineers. It can't work. It is enough to look at the three currents that had the most voice in the discussions, the second and third also being and in the acceptance of amendments: - that of the contrary for ideological reasons (which defend the permanence of the State in the property of the company;) - that of the favorable ones, either for ideological reasons or for the opportunities for intermediation gains that the business will provide via hefty commissions; - and finally, the group of opportunists, with no vision of national interest, but with very specific profit objectives for their businesses. Centrão deputies treated, as usual, the matter as usual: how can this benefit my electoral corral, my populist speech. And the lobbyists put in the most ridiculous proposals. I write this article, at the eleventh hour, with the conviction that hope is the last to die. And that a breath of common sense, as the flame of the Holy Spirit illuminated the heads of the apostles, the Divine manifest itself and Their Excellencies the Senators shelve this MP. Those who know the electricity sector and know its systemic functioning, the challenges it will be subjected to due to climate change, the need for more in-depth studies on the complementary functioning of its parts, note the effect of the speeding up of the discussion in that inappropriate forum. Perhaps a project of this magnitude has never been discussed, with a government team so unprepared for the needs of the matter. In this context, without organized discussions with the presence of large companies, the Academy and national and international consultants, there is a risk of perpetrating a crime in relation to the new generations. The reason for the urgency, as announced by the Secretary of Government for Privatizations in a debate organized on April 13 by BTG, is that, if we do not use the existing window of opportunity and a project that received a lining up by the previous Government, it would not be feasible. in this government. It is not a position to reassure operating companies in the sector. What do these plethora of private and governmental actors know about the functioning of an integrated and complex system that do not see, in their immediacy, the medium and long term? Because it always looks to the future and because of its weight, Eletrobras cannot be transferred en bloc, as a quasi-public monopoly to become a private monopoly. This will produce a substantial imbalance due to the resulting market concentration, as studies by independent consultants point out. Another term used in the aforementioned debate, Eletrobras slicing, is being incorrectly used. Furnas was created before Eletrobras and, like its other subsidiaries, can go back to living independently, public or private. Eletrobras raised funds in the South and Southeast, via Furnas and Eletrosul and applied them to the others. Thus, throughout its existence, it was the biggest factor in reducing regional inequalities that we had. Energy consumption in the Northeast before Chesf, in 1950, was 1% of Brazil. Today it is almost 20%. This is because Eletrobrás channeled resources to increase supply in the region. This is a good role for a state-owned enterprise; Now, with the exception of Chesf, whose destiny is primarily to manage water and not electricity, it is high time to make the subsidiaries of Eletrobras independent, with their rich technical cultures and knowledge of the regions where they operate. Eletrobras also owns the transmission systems that must be integrated into regional networks and privatized, with this unitary characteristic per region and connection between them. Because? I do not doubt a strong level of wind and solar generation in the Northeast being transported to the Southeast. All this can be done quickly. These are individual companies by transmission line or substation. And they have to be operated and maintained with a certain care, so that episodes like the one that recently happened in the supply to Amapá do not happen again. Eletrobras is essential to give the necessary pace to future nuclear plants (conciliating the needs of the electrical system with the continuity of technological development). It is also constitutionally responsible for future international uses. In the context of the rapid energy transition that we are experiencing, it is essential to preserve and expand Cepel's research role in areas such as direct current, solar energy, hydrogen, electronic controls for smart grids and others. And also to be the most profound connoisseur of the environmental impacts of energy and to give the guidelines for the world of zero emissions. Because? Because the future is electric, it has to be clean and that means tripling the generation capacity. It is not in this simple article that the solution to a problem of the magnitude that this privatization requires will be shown. And also to prove the need for the Government to maintain, at this moment of energy transition, under the state-owned Eletrobras, its energy arm in the nuclear area, the Research Center, CEPEL, and the international uses regulated by Treaties, which is otherwise what defines the Constitution. The moment is to shelve a poorly conceived Provisional Measure, generating a huge tariff increase, masked by using capital resources from the sale of this heritage to cover operating expenses in the coming years of this Government. The Government also says that Eletrobras' assets do not yield what they should. That way she can't invest. And how could they pay if the government itself imposed very low tariffs on its generators and reduced the remuneration of its assets to nothing, for electoral reasons? Attracting investors depends on a decent regulatory framework - which does not exist - and on the appropriate behavior of the regulatory body - which did not even respect what was defined in the recent privatization of distributors - which has already led to legal action. In fact, the sector suffers high judicialization due to gender problems. There are many problems to be solved and privatization in this model will only worsen them and needs to be rejected in the Senate. * Former National Secretary of Energy, President of Eletrobrás and Light and Former director of BNDESPAR
US LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE SMRs
Technology of small reactors and modular reactors will be the subject of debate during the XII SIEN
The US Department of State has launched a Basic Infrastructure program for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology called FIRST, which will provide “training support to partner countries”. The initial contribution is US$ 5.3 million to support FIRST projects. The US Department of State said in a statement that “FIRST is a training program designed to deepen strategic ties, support energy innovation, and promote technical collaboration with partner nations on a safe nuclear energy infrastructure. This cooperation includes supporting the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), in a manner consistent with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Milestone Approach to implementing a responsible nuclear power program.” FIRST strengthens US relationships with international partners through government, industry, national laboratory and academic institution commitments, the State Department said. The benefits of SMRs include cost savings, scale, flexibility, and the ability to partner with other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The technology can also be used in water desalination; replacing coal to power energy-intensive industrial processes; and hydrogen production to help decarbonise transportation and other sectors. The SMRs would be the ideal alternative to generate energy in more distant places in the country, such as the extreme north and northwest. SIEN WILL DEBATE SMRs SMR technology will be discussed in the Agenda of the XII International Seminar on Nuclear Energy (SIEN 2021), scheduled for August 25th, 26th and 27th, as well as important issues of the nuclear agenda, with cyber security in the energy sector, applications of radiation in agriculture, medicine and the oil industry. SIEN 2021 will be online due to uncertainty regarding the evolution of the Covid-19 vaccination program in the country. Once again, on the third day, SIEN will bring together debates on communication issues in the nuclear sector, a strategic tool to raise society's awareness of the socioeconomic benefits of radiation technology. The date is already confirmed and can be booked on the agenda: 25, 26 and 27/08/2021. In the online mode, in 2020 the event received almost 3,000 hits during the three days of debate, and it hopes to repeat the success and surpass these numbers in 2021.
MEASURES PAVE THE WAY FOR THE RESUMPTION OF ANGRA 3 WORKS
RETURN OF ANGRA 3
The resumption of construction of Angra 3 has been advancing significantly. Since last year, several measures have been taken so that the restart of the works becomes a reality. This reflects the priority given to the project by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). Eletronuclear has also been doing its part to achieve this goal. On February 4, there was an important event for Angra 3. On that date, the Senate approved the conversion into law of Provisional Measure 998, which allows for a review of the contracting price for the energy to be generated by Angra 3. The text, which follows now for presidential sanction, it establishes a legal framework for several issues related to the project, providing legal certainty so that investments can be made in the plant's resumption. One of the most important is the rescission of the existing reserve energy contract and the agreement of a new contract, with an energy price that meets the profitability of the enterprise and the tariff affordability. This price will be calculated by BNDES, which has already been working on the financial and contractual restructuring of the project. The supply term will be 40 years, from the beginning of commercial operation. According to the new law, the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) will be responsible for authorizing the execution of this new contract and granting it – that is, the permission to operate the plant. The unit will be authorized to operate for 50 years, renewable for more. The CNPE will also monitor the construction of the plant, while the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) will observe the fulfillment of its date of entry into commercial operation, scheduled for November 2026. Additionally, the reference price for energy from Angra 3 will be updated by BNDES. In its calculation, the bank will take into account the maintenance of the economic and financial viability of the enterprise, the contracting of financing under market conditions and respect for reasonableness and reasonable tariffs. The institution will also update the investment needed to complete the plant, which is currently estimated at around R$15 billion. The total investment made so far is R$ 7.8 billion. The current global physical progress of the enterprise is 65%. Resources for the mill Another important milestone came at the end of January. At the time, Eletrobras approved the release of the resources necessary for Eletronuclear to publish the public notice for contracting the civil works of Angra 3 within the scope of the plan to accelerate the plant's critical path. The objective is to advance some of the unit's construction activities even before Eletronuclear hires the company that will undertake the global work. This is expected to happen by March. These funds come from the Advance for Future Capital Increase (Afac) approved by Eletrobras in July last year. In 2020, the company released BRL 1.052 billion to Eletronuclear. For 2021, an additional R$ 2.447 billion is forecast. The total amount of Afac is included in the 2020-2024 Business and Management Master Plan (PDNG). Eletrobras' decision to grant Afac to Eletronuclear follows the approval by the Investment Partnerships Program Council (CPPI), last June, of the report of an interministerial committee on the business model to complete Angra 3. The document recommends the contracting of a company specialized under an EPC contract – which means engineering, procurement and construction management, in English translation – to complete the work, based on an independent assessment carried out by BNDES. Now, the bank is detailing the model selected by the CPPI. The work is monitored by the CNPE. This will occur in parallel with the execution of the Angra 3 critical path acceleration plan by Eletronuclear. Potential partner Despite having decided to hire an EPEC company to complete the plant, the CPPI made room for a partner to enter the enterprise, stating that this would be a strategic choice for Eletronuclear. It is worth mentioning that, if the company decides to select a partner to complete the unit, it would have a minority stake. This is because the exploitation of nuclear energy in Brazil is a monopoly of the Union, according to the Constitution. The main international actors in the nuclear area have already shown interest in the completion of Angra 3. Almost all of them have already visited the plant's site and signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Eletronuclear to exchange information about the project. The group consists of Westinghouse (USA), EDF (France), Rosatom (Russia), CNNC and SNPTC (China). These companies also participated in a market consultation, known as market sounding, on the construction of the unit, carried out by Eletronuclear in 2019. It is also worth mentioning that, at the end of June 2020, Eletrobras approved the conversion of Afac contracts into new Eletronuclear shares, in the total amount of R$ 850 million. In addition, it authorized the capitalization of financing contracts in which the holding company is the creditor of its subsidiary, in the amount of almost R$ 1.036 billion. These were important steps to settle Eletronuclear's debts with Eletrobras. Eletronuclear has also been negotiating the debts that the company has with BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) due to the financing of Angra 3, which total R$ 6.6 billion. The company has been paying R$ 30.1 million monthly to the BNDES. As for Caixa, the company pays R$ 24.7 million monthly. Critical path acceleration Among the main measures included in the critical path acceleration plan is the completion of the concrete superstructure of the Angra 3 reactor building. In addition, an important part of the electromechanical assembly will be carried out, foreseen in the initial phase of the schedule for the resumption of work, which includes the closing of the steel containment sphere and the installation of the used fuel pool, the polar bridge and the semi-gantry crane. To begin with, it is necessary to hire the company that will complete the engineering projects and the contractor responsible for the civil works and assembly within the scope of the plan. It is also necessary to hire support and inspection companies for the manufacture of components and civil works. Finally, it is necessary to prepare the public notice for the selection of the EPC specialist who will be responsible for completing the civil works and electromechanical assembly of the plant. This task will be carried out by a company contracted by BNDES. This company will also carry out an independent assessment of the status of the work, the preservation of equipment, the budget and the project's schedule. The expectation is that the contract for the civil works that will be carried out under the plan will be signed by May 2021. With this, the first concrete – an important milestone in the resumption of works at Angra 3 – should be launched in October. The contracting of the EPEC company that will continue the work is scheduled for the second half of 2022. The main objective of the acceleration plan is to preserve the date of entry into operation of the plant, scheduled for November 2026. Security of supply The completion of Angra 3, which has a power rating of 1,405 MW, is important for several reasons. To begin with, the plant will help ensure security of supply for the Brazilian electrical system. The unit's generation will be enough to serve 4.5 million people. With the unit's entry into operation, the energy generated by the Angra nuclear plant will be equivalent to approximately 60% of the consumption in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The generation from Angra 3 will also replace the more expensive energy from diesel and fuel-fired thermal power plants that today is frequently dispatched by the National Electric System Operator (ONS). The plant also generates clean energy, as it does not emit gases responsible for the greenhouse effect, unlike thermoelectric plants powered by fossil fuels. Another relevant point is its proximity to the main consumption centers in the country, which will help to avoid congestion in the interconnections between the subsystems. The construction of the unit is also essential to scale the entire production chain of the Brazilian nuclear sector, from fuel production to energy generation. The enterprise will also represent the creation of about 7 thousand direct jobs, at the peak of the work, in addition to a much greater number of indirect jobs. The vast majority will be hired in Costa Verde, which will be an important factor in driving the region's economy. Source: Electronuclear
CARLOS MARIZ DEFENDS NUCLEAR PLANT IN ITACURUBA, PE
By Carlos Henrique da Costa Mariz
The Itacuruba nuclear power plant, in Pernambuco, is an important project for energy security in the Northeast region, sustainable and with a great impact on regional development. Electricity generation in the world is predominantly from thermal energy, including nuclear. It can be seen that 40% of the total electricity production comes from coal, 23% from natural gas, 16% from hydroelectric plants, 11% from nuclear, 5% from oil and the rest from wind, solar and others. Thermoelectric plants are reliable, do not depend on the weather and operate under the complete control of the operators while the renewable ones depend on the climate. The environmental pressures linked to the climate have been changing this profile rapidly. Nuclear energy plays a fundamental role in the design of a balanced matrix, providing energy security. There are 444 nuclear plants in operation in the world, 54 under construction, 111 under approval and another 330 in planning. published reports showing the real effects of these accidents: Chernobyl 64 confirmed deaths and no evidence of public health impact attributed to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident; Fukushima no confirmed casualties. Here in Brazil it would be practically impossible to have accidents of this nature: the PWR (pressurized water reactor) technology that uses water as a moderator and not graphite (which is flammable) and which was the main responsible for the expansion of the Chernobyl accident. Brazil, due to its geographical and geological situation, is not subject to large earthquakes or large-scale tsunamis, which were the main causes of the Fukushima accident. than all sources of electrical energy. In July 2012, Forbes magazine published studies on the subject, showing that the number of deaths from TWH produced by nuclear power plants is the lowest among all sources of production: 90 for nuclear, against 1400 for hydroelectric, 150 for wind, 440 for photovoltaics, 100,000 for coal, 4,000 for natural gas, 36,000 for oil and 24,000 for biomass. In addition, nuclear is one of the sources that emits less CO2 alongside wind, hydro and solar. In tons of carbon dioxide per gigawatt-hour: nuclear 17, wind 18, hydro 15, solar 14, natural gas 622 and coal 1041, according to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). lives are saved.” 1.8 million lives have been saved to date by replacing fossil energy with nuclear, according to climatologist James Hansen. The great American businessman at TESLA, Elon Musk, responsible for producing batteries and electric cars, said that the consumption of electric energy in the world should double in the next 20 years, driven by the consumption of electric cars, and highlighted the need to have a sustainable source because sometimes the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. nuclear energy to supply large volumes of production in a sustainable way and without CO2 emissions.For example, almost 80% of electricity production in France is of nuclear origin. It has 58 nuclear power plants in operation at 19 sites, 44 of which are located on rivers such as the Loire, Rhône, Seine, etc. France has one of the lowest CO2 emissions in Europe and also one of the lowest electricity tariffs. The country that has the most nuclear power plants is the United States, with approximately 100 units and the country that builds the most is China with 48 nuclear reactors in operation and 11 under construction among the 53 that are being built in the world today. More than 30 countries on the planet have nuclear generation in operation. Here, in the Northeast of Brazil, we have had blackouts and sub-blackouts due to the high volatility of the electrical system with a high percentage of wind farms, with great intermittence. It is urgent to supplement with clean energy, which is why the need for nuclear energy blocks. The great benefits for Pernambuco, the Northeast and Brazil of the construction of the Itacuruba Nuclear Power Plant are undeniable. With an investment of around 30 billion dollars, energy production superior to the entire production of CHESF, 10,000 construction workers 5,000 employees, with high salaries working at the Central, permanently and full time, and an annual revenue of 5.5 billion of dollars for a useful life of more than 60 years, reaching 100 years with upgrades!The strategic plan of the Ministry of Mines and Energy approved in December 2020, PNE2050, signaled the need for an additional 10,000 MW of nuclear energy. The Itacuruba plant with six units, if built, would represent 6,600 MW. It is necessary to understand the importance of a well-balanced electricity matrix, where nuclear generation plays an important role in energy security and low CO2 emissions, if we wanted to achieve high goals of economic development with sustainability.*Carlos Henrique da Costa Mariz is Vice-President of ABEN – Brazilian Association of Nuclear Energy and Board Member of ABDAN – Brazilian Association of Nuclear ActivitiesSource: Blog do Janilson
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