Argentine nuclear reactor due to start up in 2020

The 32MW Carem small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) under construction in Argentina's Buenos Aires province will require US$700mn in total investment and start operations by June 2020, according to national atomic energy commission CNEA.

The commission's head, Osvaldo Calzetta Larrieu, was quoted by state news service Télam as saying that there is a multibillion dollar global market for SMR technology.

Carem is a prototype meant to reduce investment costs for countries that need base load power, the energy ministry has said, and is ideally suited for small grids and isolated areas.

In August 2016, CNEA awarded a US$1.2bn-peso (currently US$78.8mn) contract to engineering firms Siemens and Tecna for plant works at Carem.

Nuclear accounted for 5.56% of Argentina's total power generation in 2016, up from 4.76% in 2015, data from system operator Cammesa shows.