Jun 28 (NucNet) Mexico could have eight new nuclear units in operation by 2025 if the government revives proposals to use nuclear for some of the additional 27 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity the country is expected to need over the next two decades.
Mexican Nuclear Society president Gustavo Alonso told an industry conference in London yesterday that a proposal exists to have a new unit in commercial operation by 2015, followed by seven more in the period from 2016-2025.
The proposals, put forward by the government’s committee on nuclear energy before last year’s presidential election, suggest the nuclear share of electricity generation should be 12 percent by 2030, up from less than five percent today.
The committee said of the additional 27 GW of generating capacity, plans existed to fill around 21 GW with other forms of power generation such as coal, hydro and gas. Mr Alonso said the remaining six GW is “where nuclear could come in”.
There was no time to take the proposals any further before last year’s election, but in recent months there has been increasing momentum towards new nuclear build in political circles.
Mr Alonso said Mexico would look for national and international financing for possible new units, with the national portion accounting for 15 percent.
“What we need is a definite policy on nuclear from the Ministry of Energy and unfortunately there is no timetable”, he added. “Maybe it can happen soon.”
Mexico has two 680-megawatt boiling water reactor units in operation at its Laguna Verde nuclear power plant on the Gulf of Mexico. Mr Alonso said Laguna Verde could be the site of the first two new units.
The election of July 2006 was tightly run. It saw Felipe Calderon, from the governing, conservative National Action Party, declared the winner with a lead of less than a percentage point over his left-wing rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Mexico Receives First Batch Of Nuclear Fuel From Russia (Business News No. 8, 16 February 2004)
Mexico Considers Construction Of New Nuclear Plants (News No. 194, 8 September 2006)
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