Nuclear energy is seen as a viable option to address electricity shortages around the globe, and two countries in opposite ends of South America are looking closely at this alternative. In this issue of NotiEn, we examine how Chile and Venezuela view expansion of their nuclear capacities.   

In Chile, President Sebastián Piñera has given signals that he is open to the possibility that the South American country could at some point consider the construction of nuclear power plants on Chilean soil.  Argentina and Brazil, two of Chile's neighbors in the Southern Cone, are moving forward with plans to expand their nuclear power capabilities, but Chile is on the fence. Even though he is keeping an open mind, Piñera has stopped short of declaring that Chile is moving forward with any plans to introduce nuclear power to the Andean nation.

 

The movement toward nuclear power is not as ambivalent in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chávez has signed an ambitious agreement with Russia to construct a nuclear power plant on Venezuelan territory. Under the agreement, Russia agreed to transfer certain nuclear technology to Venezuela to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. Chávez views the development of nuclear energy as essential because of the limited capabilities of the country's hydroelectric network.
 

Carlos Navarro - Editor

 

After six months of electricity rationing that took a significant political toll on President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela and Russia signed an ambitious agreement by which Russia pledged to build a nuclear power plant in Venezuela and transfer certain nuclear technology to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. The commitment, which also included bilateral cooperation in other areas--finance (creating a Russian-Venezuelan bank), trade, housing construction, military equipment, oil and technology provision--makes the two countries what Russian President Dmitri Medvedev called "strategic partners".

 

On Oct. 15, when the ink was barely dry on the 15 protocols signed in Moscow that deepened the friendship between the two countries, Chávez and Medvedev let it be known that they expected negative reactions from other countries--"there could be those who without reason are nervous about this," said Chávez in a veiled reference to the US--but they made it clear that there was no cause for concern because the agreement is transparent and the plant that Venezuela will have will be used for scientific, not bellicose, purposes. Read more...