Energy Advisor 2025-10-10 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

Energy ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

October 10, 2025

Will Privatization Help Argentina’s Nuclear Sector?

Argentina’s government is looking to partially privatize the country’s state-run nuclear energy firm. // File Photo: Mrcukilo via CC BY-SA 3.0.

Q

The administration of Argentine President Javier Milei will soon launch a public international auction seeking to sell 44 percent of Nucleoléctrica Argentina, the wholly state-run company that oversees operations of the country’s three operational nuclear power reactors, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni announced on Sept. 16. The firm, whose power plants contribute 6 percent of Argentina’s electricity supply, has a valuation of approximately $1 billion, newspaper El Cronista reported. How would the partial privatization of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina affect the company’s operations? What prospects exist for new nuclear reactor construction in Argentina, and how would a new nuclear facility most likely materialize? What is nuclear energy’s role in the region’s transition to less carbon intensive and more affordable forms of energy?

A

Alfonso Blanco, director of the Energy Transition & Climate Program at the Inter-American Dialogue: “If Argentina were to proceed with the privatization of its nuclear power plants, the country would face a strategic, economic and technological loss of considerable magnitude. Argentina has not only been a pioneer in Latin America in the development of nuclear energy, but it also remains one of only three countries in the region that possess nuclear technology for electricity generation. Since the creation of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) in 1950, through the construction and operation of Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse, Argentina has built a unique legacy that integrates industrial capacity, advanced scientific research and the training of highly qualified human resources. These plants are already…”

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ABOUT THE Energy ADVISOR

A sister publication of the Inter-American Dialogue’s daily Latin America Advisor, the weekly Energy Advisor captures fresh analysis from business leaders and government officials on the most important developments in oil and gas, biofuels, the power sector, renewables, new technologies, and the policy debates shaping the future of energy in the Western Hemisphere and beyond. To subscribe or for more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.