Nucleoeléctrica Argentina Completed The Construction Of The Dry Storage Of Fuel Elements In Atucha, A Fundamental Engineering Work For The Operation Of The Power Plant

The completion of this challenge sets a new milestone for the company and consolidates its capability to carry out complex engineering projects, as it did in the past with the completion of the Atucha II Nuclear Power Plant and the life extension of Embalse Nuclear Power Plant. Likewise, it once again positions the Argentine nuclear industry as the engine of innovation and development of the country's scientific-technological capabilities.

The new facility will be a storage space for the uranium fuel elements already used by the Power Plant in the power generation process. Once the construction of the storage building was completed and the electromechanical installations were finished, the transfer of the fuel elements to the building where they will be housed began successfully on August 27, 2022.

The work had an investment of approximately 6,000 million pesos and generated quality employment for more than 200 qualified workers who were hired to carry out the work, in addition to generating knowledge and experience in a hundred more people belonging to Nucleoeléctrica Argentina staff.

This project was, in turn, a promoter of national companies such as Consulper, in charge of civil finishing; RAFA, who carried out the electromechanical assembly; UZWIL, in charge of finishing metal structures, and Tecniark, responsible for board engineering. Also, Alsintec, a specialist in process engineering and control; Conuar, in charge of the assembly of silo components; Fuego Red, responsible for the fire-fighting system and SECIN, the construction of the container that transports the fuel elements to the storage silo.

The work was born from the need to increase the storage capacity of spent fuel elements of Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently carrying out tasks to extend its useful life. It is a new building attached to and integrated into the existing building of the Plant's Pool House, in which 316 silos located below the 0.50 m level were installed. This makes it possible to house 2,844 fuel elements.

Atucha I

Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant began its construction in June 1968 and began its operation in 1974, being the first nuclear power plant in Latin America. It is located on the right bank of the Paraná de las Palmas River, 100 km from the city of Buenos Aires in the town of Lima, Zárate District. It currently has a gross electrical power of 362 electrical megawatts.

All its safety systems were updated and comply with local and international requirements. From 2008 to date, Nucleoeléctrica has been executing Atucha I Life Extension Project, the completion of which will allow its operation to be extended for additional twenty years at full power.

Nucleoeléctrica Argentina

The company produces electric power through the operation of Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse power plants. The total installed capacity of its three plants is 1,763 MW. In addition to operating the Plants and marketing the energy produced in the Wholesale Electricity Market (MEM), it is in charge of managing projects that ensure the normal operation of its facilities, as well as those whose objective is the eventual construction of future nuclear power plants in national territory.

Its activities are subject to the highest safety standards and are supervised through rigorous controls. Nuclear energy contributes to caring for the environment due to its competitiveness and reduction of CO2 emissions. This source of energy does not generate gases or particles that cause the greenhouse effect, one of the main causes of climate change.