Latin America rejoins the race to build nuclear power plants

Argentina, Brazil lead race to offset flagging hydroelectric power

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Atucha nuclear power plant in Argentina. Photo: Wikimedia.

(Michael Molinski is a senior economist at Trendline Economics. He’s worked for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, and previously as a foreign correspondent and editor for Bloomberg News and MarketWatch.)

BUENOS AIRES (Callaway Climate Insights) — In the race to fill the gap in energy, the world is increasingly looking at nuclear energy as one alternative, and Latin America is no exception. Three countries in Latin America — Brazil, Mexico and Argentina — have operating nuclear energy power plants, and several others are considering adding nuclear power.

Latin America’s rush to add nuclear power is perhaps greater than most of the world as the region faces an energy crisis brought on by climate change, which has led to severe droughts that have dried up the rivers that power the region’s hydroelectric power. On top of that, Latin America is facing the same energy issues that the rest of the world is facing as more power is needed to fuel the spread of AI and cryptocurrency centers.