El Salvador begins the path to the use of nuclear energy after delivery of legal equipment

The Salvadoran government submitted legal documents to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to implement nuclear power generation. “El Salvador is moving towards nuclear energy,” wrote El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, sharing a publication of IAEA Director Rafael Mariano Grossi, where he delivered applications for the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes declare. The keynote address was given by Daniel Álvarez, head of the Directorate General of Energy, Hydrocarbons and Mines (DGEHM) and Adriana Meira, Vice-Chancellor of El Salvador. “El Salvador is committed to decarbonization, diversifying its energy matrix and benefiting from peaceful nuclear applications”, the IAEA chief indicated. On its part, the Energy Directorate pointed out that this is “an important step towards diversifying our energy matrix in the long term and achieving the decarbonization objectives of our country.” In March 2023, the directorate of the directorate signed a cooperation agreement with the US-based Thorium Energy Alliance to explore nuclear power generation with thorium fuel. Thorium is an element that can be used as nuclear fuel for electrical energy in nuclear reactors. This element is safer and more efficient than uranium, it also represents a lower risk of nuclear accidents. A conventional nuclear power plant produces heat by splitting atoms in a reactor with uranium or plutonium. That heat is used to produce steam and then electrical energy. These terminals usually generate large amounts of radioactive waste, pollutants that cannot be easily disposed of. According to the government, 68.4% of the national energy demand is met by renewable energy. El Salvador’s energy matrix includes hydroelectric plants, photovoltaic parks, a wind farm, as well as biomass, geothermal, and liquefied natural gas production.