Mexican Government, Congress Support Nuclear Power to Varying Degrees; Detractors Want Laguna Verde Power Plant Closed

The threat of a nuclear mishap in Mexico, similar to the disaster that hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in March, has ignited a debate on whether the Mexican government should proceed with plans to expand the capacity of the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Veracruz state. The plant, property of the state-run electric utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), operates two boiling-water reactors fueled with enriched uranium and provides 3% to 4% of Mexicos total electricity needs. The plant has an installed capacity of nearly 1,400 megawatts. The Japan disaster has prompted a group of environmental organizations, led by Greenpeace México, to demand that the government abandon nuclear power altogether. Opinions in the Mexican Congress are mixed, with the chair of the Senate energy committee reiterating that nuclear power is safe and a senator for the governing party calling for constructing more nuclear power plants. Other legislators are asking for further studies on the safety of nuclear power and a moratorium on expanding the country\u27s nuclear power program, but they stopped short of calling for an end to the use of nuclear power.\u2