Feedbacks from our customers: John T. Carlin
Feedbacks from our customers: Robert J. Duncan
William Russ, Senior scientist, Meriden (USA)
Sandrine Marciano, safety engineer (France)
Jennifer Desimone, process engineer (USA)
Susan Easterling, Ingénieur génie civil (USA)
Brazil: integrated maintenance of a power plant
Brittany Smith, systems engineer, Lynchburg (USA)
Gilton Peixoto, commercial manager (Brasil)
Michael-Leslie Williams, Contract Mgt Director (USA)
Brazil
- More than 570 employees.
- AREVA is highly present in Brazil both in the nuclear sector and that of renewable energies.
- Partnerships with local companies, who were involved in more than 50% of completion of the Angra 2 construction works.
With 191 million inhabitants, a demographic growth of 1.2% per year and a GDP growth rate of almost 3%, Brazil's energy requirements are considerable.
Massive investments have been made to support the country's development. A government program launched in January 2007, called the "Program to Accelerate the Growth" (PAC), provided for the allocation of 130 billion dollars to the energy sector.
- Nuclear power meets 3% of the country's electricity demands. 90% of the electricity comes from renewable energies. The remainder comes from various sources such as petroleum, coal and gas.
- Brazil has two nuclear reactors at the Angra site near Rio de Janeiro: Angra 1 (626 MW, commissioned in 1985), and Angra 2 (1,270 MW, commissioned in 2001).
- The country has mastered virtually all nuclear technologies:
- Uranium extraction (Brazil has 158,000 tons of uranium, in other words 6% of the world's conventional reserves)
- Uranium conversion and enrichment
- Fuel production
- Heavy component manufacturing
- Power plant operation, etc.
Attached to its energy-related independence, Brazil still relies on hydroelectricity, which revealed its limitations during the droughts of 2001.
Under these conditions, nuclear power, given credibility by the excellent performance of the Angra 1 and Angra 2 reactors, appears to be the energy of the future to the Brazilian authorities. The country has unveiled a plan to build 7 new reactors in the next 20 years, starting with completion of Angra 3 (1,394 MW), the construction of which was interrupted in 1985 due to funding problems.
In November 2006, the government announced its intention to build 4 additional 1,000 MWe reactors.
Brazil leads the world market for biomass, with many regions devoted to growing sugar cane. Despite restrictions imposed by the government on using this crop as a source of biofuel due to recent environmental laws, the country intends to double its sugar cane production and renovate nearly 80% of its power plants burning bagasse for fuel. Other sources of biomass will also participate in the growth of renewable energy supplies, such as wood residue and household waste. The total production capacity based on renewables is estimated at 70 GW. In 2009, the market witnessed a tightening of credit, which has slowed down projects in the sugar industry. But by the end of the year, market perspectives had clearly improved with the recovery of the Brazilian economy.
-
AREVA's activities in Brazil
-
Front end
At the beginning of 2010, INB (Industrias Nucleares do Brasil) and AREVA signed a contract to provide uranium conversion services to supply fuel to Brazil’s Angra nuclear power plant complex for the next five years (to Units 1 and 2 and soon to Unit 3).
-
Reactors & Services
- AREVA constructed Angra 2 and supplied a large portion of the Angra 3 equipment (1,394 MW).
- In 2009, the local building permit was issued to recommence the Angra 3 project and the civil works were begun. AREVA signed an addendum to its contract for the engineering services, and also received an order to provide project management services for the operation.
- In December 2008, AREVA and the Brazilian utility company, Eletronuclear, signed a draft agreement relating to the industrial collaboration of both groups and their commitment to collaborate in favor of growing the Brazilian reactor fleet. AREVA will make itself available to provide the necessary expertise for production of the nuclear fuel required to operate this fleet.
- AREVA and Eletronuclear also signed maintenance agreements for Angra 1 and 2 in June 2008 as well as a service agreement for the Angra 1 reactor in late 2008.
- AREVA subsidiary 01dB-Metravib is also active in Brazil in the field of reducing environmental and noise pollution. Its main clients are the mining industries.
-
Renewable energy
AREVA supplies its Brazilian clients with alternative solutions for the CO2-free production of electricity:
- With the acquisition of Koblitz in January 2008, AREVA strengthened its position in Brazil, a country with great potential: its renewable-based production capacity is expected to increase at least 5% per year, i.e., by 5000 MW annually to meet electric power requirements. The core business of the Brazilian company is based on the providing turnkey services to build small capacity biofuel and hydroelectric power plants.
- In 2009, AREVA Koblitz signed a contract worth 220 million euros with the Bertin Group, specialized in meat processing and the sugar industry, to build 11 biofuel-fired power plants. Late 2004 and mid-2005, AREVA had already won contracts for the installation of 3 biomass power plants in the province of Parana. In Brazil, AREVA has a 40% market share in the biomass segment, whichrepresents 600 million tons of sugarcane bagasse.
- In 2010, AREVA and Bolognesi Participacoes, through its subsidiary Hidrotérmica, a Brazilian independent power producer, have signed a master agreement to modernize cogeneration units in 10 sugarcane factories, located primarily in northeast Brazil. Under the terms of the agreement, AREVA Koblitz, an AREVA’s subsidiary, will supply turnkey services for the units with a total output of 330 MWe that will be sold to the Brazilian grid.
- ISO 9001 certification for quality control was obtained by AREVA Koblitz at the beginning of 2010.
