During his visit to nuclear power plant Cernavoda, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said that, given the taxonomy recently approved by the European Commission, which has accepted nuclear energy as a transition energy, Romanian Government supports the construction of NPP Cernavoda’s units 3 and 4 and the refurbishment of unit 1. It also supports the acceleration of the projects for the implementation of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR). These projects will contribute to Romania’s energy independence, in accordance with the European vision of protecting the environment and reducing CO2 emissions.
The plant’s operator Nuclearelectrica has ongoing strategic investment projects worth an estimated 9 billion euros including the refurbishment of unit 1, the construction of units 3 and 4, as well as the development of small modular reactors in cooperation with NuScale Power. The company’s investment projects will contribute with clean energy, without CO2 emissions, to Romania’s energy stability, to the local and national socio- economic development, to the development of the nuclear industry and to the training of a new generation of specialists.
Nuclearelectrica’s CEO Cosmin Ghita said that the implementation of these investment projects of will provide, after 2031, approximately 33 % of the national electricity demand and estimated 66 % of clean energy at national level, as well as the reduction in emissions of some 24 million tons of CO2 per year.
Last November, Nuclearelectrica and US company NuScale Power have agreed to deploy the first small modular reactor (SMR) in Romania. This agreement took place after the White House announced earlier this week that the US company would build a small modular nuclear reactor in Romania, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis had a meeting with the US President’s special representative for climate John Kerry on this topic.
According to Nuclearelectrica, NuScale Power is the only company that has received the approval of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to design and develop a small modular reactor, an essential step in building and implementing SMR technology.
