The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the construction of units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania. Unit 3 is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2030, and Unit 4 the following year.
Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers are required to notify the European Commission of planned investments and to demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards.
Energonuclear, a wholly owned subsidiary of utility Nuclearelectrica, notified the Commission about the planned construction of two Canadian-designed Candu-6 pressurized heavy water reactors Cernavoda 3 and 4 in May 2023.
The positive opinion received from the Commission “is the result of an elaborate analysis of the information provided by the Romanian side, visits to the Cernavoda site, and technical discussions over 13 months,” Nuclear Electrica noted. “The Commission assesses that the project to complete the construction of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda is in line with the objectives of the Euratom Treaty.
“This positive view is accompanied by the usual recommendations for such projects, which aim at the appropriate application of the Euratom framework in the implementation and during the lifetime of the project. These recommendations will be implemented by the project developer in the next steps.”
Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita added: “The adoption of the positive view of the European Commission is a confirmation of our commitment to technical excellence and nuclear safety. We are delighted with this significant progress, and we are confident that the project of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda will make a decisive contribution to Romania’s energy security and sustainability.”
The EC’s positive opinion was also welcomed by Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja. “Today the European Commission confirms our progress, and the construction of the two new reactors moves to the next stage,” he said. “Reactors 3 and 4 represent key pillars of the national energy strategy; the two units will make an essential contribution to ensuring energy security at the national and regional levels. We are talking about production in the clean energy band, with zero emissions. Our country needs big projects, and Romania’s expertise in nuclear engineering makes us responsible for carrying on the tradition of 40 years of safe technology.”
Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania and consists of two 650 MWe Candu-6 reactors. Unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1996, and Unit 2 in 2007. Operator Nuclearelectrica plans to extend the operating life of Unit 1 to 60 years. Most of the work on units 3 and 4 was done in the 1980s.
