El Salvador seeks to venture into nuclear energy production and has begun the process to obtain approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA.
The decision of the Government of Nayib Bukele to explore alternative energies was announced this Friday, when the general director of Energy, Hydrocarbons and Mines, Daniel Álvarez and the vice chancellor Adriana Mira, shared on the social network IAEA for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The publication did not provide details of how and when this investment would be made.
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President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele addressing the CPAC audience, February 22, 2024. Screenshot via Rumble
To date, more than 68% of national consumption comes from renewable generation, according to the Government itself.
The director general of the UN nuclear watchdog also celebrated the agreement on his social networks.
“El Salvador is committed to decarbonization, diversifying its energy matrix and benefiting from peaceful nuclear applications,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, on his X account. The Salvadoran president shared the publication stating that “El Salvador is going nuclear.”
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By starting the process with the IAEA, the Salvadoran Government aspires to have the right to vote within the international organization and receive support for the development of nuclear energy projects, according to The Tico Times.
If it comes to fruition, El Salvador would be the first country in Central America to have nuclear energy, according to the local newspaper La Prensa Gráfica, which also reports that until the end of 2023, the IAEA lists 30 countries with nuclear energy plants in the world.
“Of these, there are 7 in Latin America: 2 of them in Mexico, 2 in Brazil and 3 in Argentina,” adds the media.