Brazilian nuclear utility Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of the national electricity group Eletrobras has sent to the Ministry of Mines & Energy (MME) the result of an updated study by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES – Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) on the economics of completing unit 3 at the Angra NPP.
According to the updated study, the initial results of which were reported in 2024, the cost of abandoning Angra 3 can vary between BRL22bn ($4.1bn) and BRL26bn. This could exceed what is needed to complete the project, estimated at BRL24bn, without producing a single MWh of electricity.
Angra NPP has two operating pressurised water reactors (PWRs) – the 640 MWe Angra 1, supplied by US Westinghouse Electric Company, which was connected to the grid in 1985 and the 1,350 MWe Angra 2, supplied by Siemens, which began operation in 2001.
Construction of Angra 3, which features a Siemens/KWU pressurised water reactor, began in 1984 but was suspended after two years. The project resumed in 2006 and first concrete was poured in 2010. However, work stopped again in 2015 following allegations of corruption involving government contracts. The unit was then 65% complete. In 2022, Eletronuclear ordered construction to restart but in April 2023 the city government of Angra dos Reis ordered work to stop again citing various issues including the promised payment of compensation. The plant is currently scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2033.
In February, Eletronuclear adopted a series of strategic measures to improve management and strengthen the financial sustainability of the company. These initiatives were intended to ensure improvements in the current governance model and enable the continuity of the construction of Angra 3.
Eletronuclear noted that, according to survey numbers commissioned by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE – Conselho Nacional de Política Energética), completing the plant is the most logical and beneficial option. MME will refer the studies to the CNPE, which will decide whether or not to complete the plant.
The updated study reaffirms the conclusions presented in December 2024, preserving the same difference between continuity and abandonment of the project. That study concluded that overall cost of abandoning Angra 3 could exceed BRL21bn while the cost of completion was estimated at around BRL23bn while the amount already invested in the work is almost BRL12bn. The BNDES study also identified that some BRL800m in Angra 3 equipment had been used by Angra 2. The plant was then expected to enter commercial operation in 2031.
The issue has already been discussed by CNPE on three occasions recently – in December 2024, February 2025 and October 2025 – occasions when there was a vote in favour of the conclusion of the study by the president of the Council, the minister of Mines & Energy. However, other councillors insisted on a collective decision.
The updated study indicates a rate of BRL778-817 per MWh, which is lower than the average cost of most large thermal plants in Brazil, which would make Angra 3, along with Angra1&2, the most competitive plants of this size in the Southeast subsystem.
Compared with the 2024 study, there was an increase of approximately BRL75/MWh, mainly due to the postponement of entry into operation and the updating of financing and investment costs. It is worth noting that the 2024 study had provided for this possible increase, estimated at up to R$ 100/MWh, if no decision on the project was made that year.
Moreover, while there is no decision by CNPE, Eletronuclear, which started 2025 with a debt of BRL7bn, spends approximately BRL1bn a year just to maintain the project. This includes BRL800m related to debt servicing with BNDES and Caixa Economica Federal and BRL200m for the maintenance of equipment and structures.
Following corporate restructuring in 2022, state-owned ENBPar (Empresa Brasileira de Participações em Energia Nuclear e Binacional) contributed BRL3.5bn to the cost of Angra 3, but this was exhausted by September 2024. Since then, Eletronuclear has been using revenue resources from Angra 1&2 to maintain the obligations of the project, which had totalled BRL900m by October 2025.
ENBPar is a public company linked to MME to retain state control over the operation of NPPs. In addition to controlling Eletronuclear, ENBPar also controls Nuclear Industries of Brazil (INB), which includes mining, beneficiation, and the enrichment of uranium and the manufacture of the fuel.
Eletronuclear says the updated study “represents another step in the technical and economic evaluation of Angra 3 as a strategic undertaking for the balance of the Brazilian electric matrix and for the stable, firm and clean supply of 24/7 energy in the long term”.
