ATUCHA I — Argentina
Nuclear power plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Approximate location -33.967, -59.2059.
NuclearBuenos AiresArgentinaCAREM Prototype (Integrated-PWR)pressurized water reactorMothballed
ATUCHA I is a 370 MW nuclear power station in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It ranks #38 of 275 Argentina power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1974, it is around 52 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 7.0% of Argentina's electricity; the national grid averages 346 gCO₂/kWh (41.6% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id ARG0000029.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Capacity provenance
The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 1,107 MW for Atucha nuclear power plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500166; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
Technically it is described as pressurized water reactor. Its current lifecycle status is “Mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #3 largest nuclear power plant of 3 in Argentina by capacity.
Argentina has 3 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 1,771 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- ATUCHA II · Nuclear · 745 MW · Buenos Aires
- Las Palmas power station (Argentina) · Gas · 202 MW · Buenos Aires
- Manuel Belgrano II power station · Gas · 810 MW · Buenos Aires
- Manuel Belgrano I power station · Gas · 868 MW · Buenos Aires
- San Pedro power station (Argentina) · Gas · 208.5 MW · Buenos Aires
- Parque Pilar thermal power plant · Gas · 99.6 MW · Buenos Aires
Location
Coordinates -33.967, -59.2059 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is ATUCHA I?
ATUCHA I is a 370 MW nuclear power plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, commissioned in 1974.