Atucha nuclear power plant 1
Gross capacity
362MW
Atucha nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Atucha nuclear power plant in Argentina rated at 362 MW gross. It is operating. Commercial operation began 24 Jun 1974.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | PHWR KWU |
| Size | Largeabove 300 MWe |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 362MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 340MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 319MW |
| Thermal output | 1,179MWt |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Atucha nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | Argentina |
| Owner | Nucleoelectrica Argentina SA100% |
| Operator | Nucleoelectrica Argentina |
| Coordinates | -33.9670, -59.2095 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 1 Jun 1968Construction start
- 13 Jan 1974First criticality
- 19 Mar 1974Grid connection
- 24 Jun 1974Commercial operation
Other units at Atucha nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Atucha nuclear power plant 2 | 745 | |
| Atucha nuclear power plant 3 | Shelved | 1,150 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 1 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 2 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 3 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 4 | Announced | 300 |
Other PHWR KWU units
2 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atucha nuclear power plant 2 | Argentina | 745 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-22
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data