Thread: GE wins contract to boost Mexico's nuclear power capacity

For some reason it disturbs me to think of Mexico having nuclear power.

http://www.signonsandiego.com

GE wins contract to boost Mexico's nuclear power capacity


ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:24 p.m. December 29, 2005

MEXICO CITY – GE Energy said Thursday it was awarded a contract by Mexico's state-owned electric utility to expand output capacity at the nuclear power plant in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
In a news release, the unit of General Electric Co. said the contract from the Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, is to provide safety and licensing evaluations for plans to increase the output by 20 percent at Laguna Verde.

GE originally designed the two boiling-water reactors at Laguna Verde, each with a capacity of 695 megawatts. The first of the reactors went into operation in 1990, and the second in 1995.

In the past five years, according to the CFE, the reactors have been working at 80 percent capacity, compared with a worldwide average of 85 percent.

GE said the Laguna Verde contract is expected to culminate with the output increase being implemented in 2009 or 2010. The company didn't reveal the terms of the contract.

The CFE, directly and through independent power producers, supplies more than 90 percent of Mexico's electricity generation.

Because of high natural-gas prices and limited supplies of the fuel in North America, the CFE has changed its expansion plans in recent years to include more diverse fuel use, such as coal, hydroelectricity and nuclear power.

The CFE estimates that the national electricity system will require an investment of US$50 billion (euro40 billion) between 2005 and 2014, including US$20 billion (euro17 billion) for generation. Under its most conservative scenario, the CFE estimates that electricity demand will grow at an average rate of 4.2 percent a year during that period.

You're not alone Brian, if you can't built it you can't run it.

I see a melt down in the future.