Country Argentina Status Operational Opened 1974 Phone +54 3487 48-0677 Construction cost 1.3 billion USD | Location Lima, Buenos Aires Commission date 1974 Province Buenos Aires Province Make and model Siemens Construction began 1968 | |
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Official name Central Nuclear Juan Domingo Perón Operator(s) Nucleoelectrica Argentina Address Lima, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Similar Embalse Nuclear Power St, Pressurized heavy‑water reactor, Zárate–Brazo Largo Bridge, El Chocón Dam, Yacyretá Dam Profiles | ||
Atucha I is one of three operational nuclear power plants of Argentina. It is located in the town of Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River.
The plant is a pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR). It employs a mixture of natural uranium and enriched uranium (0.85% of 235U), and uses heavy water for cooling and neutron moderation. It has a thermal power of 1,179 MWt, and generates 357 MWe of electricity, which is delivered at 220 kilovolts to the Argentine Interconnection System, supplying about 2.5% of the total electricity production (2005).
Atucha I was started in 1968 and began operation in 1974; it was the first nuclear power plant in Latin America. In 1973, before its completion, the plant was temporarily captured by guerrillas, who later withdrew.