Brazil's rising energy demand has created the need to build four to eight nuclear power plants by 2030, the Ministry of Mining and Energy estimated Wednesday.

Two nuclear power plants are operating in Brazil: Angra I with the capacity of 657 megawatts; and Angra II with the capacity of 1,350 megawatts.

Secretary of Development and Planning Mauricio Zimmermann said that according to the country's energy construction plan, the proposed plants will have a production capacity of about 1,000 megawatts.

Zimmermann said that every megawatt by a nuclear plant costs about 150 reais (75 U.S. dollars), while a 1,000-megawatt thermal plant, powered by gas, operates at a cost of 170 reais (85 U.S. dollars) per megawatt.

Discussing the impasse in authorizing the building of two hydroelectric power plants on the Madeira River, the secretary said the government expects the environmental licenses to be issued this month.

Otherwise, he added, the ministry will include alternative projects "such as the nuclear power plant Angra III" in the upcoming public bidding process.

Minister of Mining and Energy Silas Rondeau said earlier that the government believes Brazil's geographical features make the country more suited to other energy sources than hydroelectricity, despite objections from environmentalists.

According to Rondeau, the construction of Angra III will probably be funded by the National Bank of Social and Economic Development, as nuclear energy must be controlled by the federal government, according to the Brazilian Constitution.

Source: Xinhua