The Romanian Government signed a support agreement with state-owned Nuclearelectrica for the development of national strategic projects for the construction of units 3 and 4 in the Cernavodă nuclear power plant.
Romania is counting on nuclear energy to significantly contribute to decarbonizationefforts, which include eliminating the dependence on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible. One of the main projects, which has just entered its second phase, is to add units 3 and 4 to Cernavodă, the country’s only nuclear power plant.
The government, including the ministries of energy, finance and transportation, today signed a support agreement with state-controlled Nuclearelectrica for activities such as engineering, financing and obtaining clearances from the European Commission. Romania pledged to provide state guarantees, implement a contracts-for-difference (CfD) incentives scheme, adopt necessary legislation and facilitate the installation of transmission lines.
New units to generate 10 TWh in total per year
“Units 3 and 4, which are scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2030 and 2031 respectively, will add another 10 TWh of clean, stable and affordable energy to the national energy system, supporting energy security,” Nuclearelectrica’s Chief Executive Officer Cosmin Ghita said.
Along with the Cernavodă Project, the development of technology based on small modular reactors (SMRs) will place Romania as a leader in clean and safe energy, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă asserted.
“We also have the American, Canadian, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Emirati partners with us. Yes, we keep our word, and Romania will become an energy-independent country in the near future,” said Energy Minister Virgil Popescu.
The US Exim Bank said in November that it issued two letters of interest for the financing of technical services provided by the US.
Nuclear energy’s share to reach 36%
“Nuclear energy will double its contribution to the energy system from approximately 20% to 36%. At the same time, the contribution of nuclear energy in the total clean energy production will increase to 66%, simultaneously with the development of the domestic supply chain and other collateral industries,” said State Counsellor in the Government of Romania George Agafiței, who spoke last month at the Belgrade Energy Forum.
Project company Energonuclear signed the first contract in 2021 with Candu Energy, member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, for engineering services. Romania controls 82.5% of shares of Nuclearelectrica.
Source: Balkan Green Energy News
