Ecuador Discussing Nuclear Energy Investment With Russia

Ecuador is discussing the construction of the country’s first low-capacity nuclear power plant with Russia, while France and the United States are also in the running for its NPP construction contracts, according to Fabian Calero, the Ecuadorian Deputy Energy Minister.

Calero said that Ecuador is currently working on a new law on nuclear energy and on resolving issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stating that “Our vision is that in about six years we will be able to install a modular reactor with a capacity of about 300 MW, and then we want to expand the capacity to one gigawatt. Russia has good experience in this sector, and we are discussing our needs with Russia, France, and the United States.”

Much of Russia’s trade and investment with Ecuador is agriculture based – the country is the primary supplier of bananas to Russia. But ties are growing – AvtoVAZ is looking at an auto factory in the country to sell to the local Ecuadorian and Latin American markets. Ecuador has also expressed interest in joining the BRICS group.