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Mexico City, Feb 1, 2006 -- EFE
The energy secretary of oil-rich Mexico, Fernando Canales, said on Wednesday that the government will increase its production of nuclear energy and will invest $800 million in the country's only nuclear facility. Canales delivered his remarks at his inauguration of the international forum on renewable energy in the capital, a conference that will run through Feb. 3. He said that the Laguna Verde plant had been in operation for 25 years and that its variable costs "are the lowest compared with all the other energy sources in the country." He said that the percentage of Mexico's energy that comes from nuclear power is still "low" in comparison with other countries and thus the government will continue to invest in it. Canales noted that the $800 million would be used to "increase the plant's capacity and to build a dump" where the country's nuclear waste can be deposited. In December, U.S. firm General Electric, which designed the plant, won the contract to carry out the second phase at Laguna Verde, which has two hot water reactors, each with a production capacity of 695 megawatts. The project will be completed in either 2009 or 2010 and will increase the plant's power generation capacity by 20 percent. At the end of his presentation, Canales told journalists that Mexico supported the OPEC decision two days ago not to change its members' production quotas, which currently total 28 million barrels per day. He said that the decision would enable the oil cartel to "take into account the situation of consuming countries and have orderly and balanced markets, because the higher oil prices are preventing the growth of the world economy," and he added that Mexico would continue producing petroleum at its current rate of 3.8 million barrels per day. EFE jd/bp News Provided By |
