“The Federal Electricity Commission of Mexico (CFE) has entered the initial project phase. It is carrying out surveys and drafting technical documents to be used in the request for proposals to build two new reactors at Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant,” said the Mexican official at Mexico Energy Forum 2017.

Nuclear power generation was the only segment not affected by the energy reform proposed by the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto in 2013, and its development was postponed. This segment is regulated by the Nuclear Energy Department subordinate to Jaime Francisco Hernández, CFE Director General. According to the plans of SENER, the construction of two new reactors will start after 2028, and government investments in the nuclear segment will be revised. According to the government official, SENER will also study whether this type of clean energy will remain competitive over the next 15 years. The decision to start the bidding process for private companies will be made by the country’s next government to be appointed after the 2018 presidential election, he said.

Rosatom monitoring the situation

“Rosatom’s representatives have had a series of meetings with Mexican officials, including a meeting at Atomexpo 2016, to demonstrate advantages of our nuclear construction technology. We are monitoring the situation closely,” Ivan Dybov, Director of Rosatom America Latina, commented on the words of César Hernández Ochoa.

Nuclear energy in Mexico

The country currently operates two power reactors accounting for 4% of electric power generated in Mexico. The first reactor at Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant was put in operation in 1989, with its service life expiring in 2029. The plant’s second reactor was commissioned in 1994 and will be operated till 2034. Each of the reactors is of BWR type and has a capacity of 654 MWe.

According to the World Nuclear Association, the story of nuclear development started in 1956 with the establishment of the National Commission for Nuclear Energy (CNEN). That organization took general responsibility for all nuclear activities in the country except the use of radioisotopes and the generation of electric power. CFE, one of the two state-owned electricity companies, was assigned the role of future nuclear generator. The government supports the expansion of nuclear energy, primarily to reduce dependence on natural gas, but also to cut carbon emissions.

In November 2010, CFE was talking about building six to eight 1,400 MWe units, the first two at Laguna Verde. With the release of the 2012 energy policy, the government urged looking beyond low gas prices to consider building two more reactors at Laguna Verde or elsewhere in the state of Veracruz, as a first step in expanding nuclear capacity by 2026. This call was repeated in mid-2014. In mid-2015, the Development Program of the National Electric System included plans to commission new capacity, including three nuclear power plants, with a tentative schedule to enter commercial operation by 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Last year SENER published an updated analytical report on the prospects of electric power generation for 2015–2029. The report considers a possibility of using small modular reactors to generate heat and power in the Mexican state of Baja California. According to experts, a small modular reactor with a capacity of up to 100 MW “can be a more cost efficient solution than a co-generation plant.”