Some time ago, i saw photos of the nuclear power plant in southern Cuba. But those were made from distance, some of them with the sign "Zona Militar" in front. Last month on a visit to Cuba i had the chance to visit the place. On the main road that leads to the reactor (and ends there), of course there was a military guard. So we walked, or better "crawled" a few hundred meters through the vegetation that led us directly to the main reactor. No fence, no guards, just primitive traps made of wire and stones to make noise.
The history:
In 1976 Cuba and the Soviet Union made a contract to build two 440MW nuclear reactors. The construction began in 1982. Most parts were imported from the Ussr. Juragua power plant has been almost finished when the iron curtain fell and there was no more money to finish the plant. Fidel Castro failed getting international money, mainly because Cuba had not signed the "Atomwaffensperrvertrag" yet (what is Atomwaffensperrvertrag in english...?).
The second power plant was planned at the Gibara river but construction never started. These two nuclear power plants were planned to produce 15% of the energy requirements of Cuba and would have made the country more independent from oil imports.
Today the area with its huge concret ruins and collapsed rusty cranes is used by vultures as breeding territory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPLsKwhCzk
[video=youtube;2SPLsKwhCzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPLsKwhCzk[/video]
The history:
In 1976 Cuba and the Soviet Union made a contract to build two 440MW nuclear reactors. The construction began in 1982. Most parts were imported from the Ussr. Juragua power plant has been almost finished when the iron curtain fell and there was no more money to finish the plant. Fidel Castro failed getting international money, mainly because Cuba had not signed the "Atomwaffensperrvertrag" yet (what is Atomwaffensperrvertrag in english...?).
The second power plant was planned at the Gibara river but construction never started. These two nuclear power plants were planned to produce 15% of the energy requirements of Cuba and would have made the country more independent from oil imports.
Today the area with its huge concret ruins and collapsed rusty cranes is used by vultures as breeding territory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPLsKwhCzk
[video=youtube;2SPLsKwhCzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPLsKwhCzk[/video]