Romanian electricity producer Nuclearelectrica signed another contract related to the refurbishment of unit 1 of the country’s sole nuclear power plant Cernavoda with Candu Energy, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, to conduct further pre-project works for CANDU reactor, ahead of its life-extension.
The two-year agreement, worth some 65 million dollars, will see SNC-Lavalin perform long lead and front-end engineering services, in preparation for the upcoming refurbishing project. The refurbishment will extend the unit 1 reactor’s operating life by additional 30 years.
CEO of Nuclearelectrica Cosmin Ghita said that the refurbishment of unit 1 is part of the company’s commitment to contribute to Romania’s transition through clean, low cost and 24/7 available energy.
Nuclearelectrica will capitalize on its 26 years of nuclear expertise at the highest standards of safety and productivity, working along top international specialists and complete this strategic project for Romania’s energy security and decarbonization targets.
The refurbishment of unit 1 of NPP Cernavoda NPP is one of the main investment projects implemented by Nuclearelectrica and was approved by the its shareholders in December 2013.
The project, initiated in 2017, is envisaged in three stages. Phase I was carried out in the period 2017-2022 and consisted of demonstrating the capability of the current components of the reactor of unit 1 to operate for more than 210,000 hours at the rated power, until at least the end of 2026, as well as demonstrating the feasibility of the project, a stage that was completed in February 2022.
Phase II of the project was launched in February 2022. The estimated cost of the investment is 1.85 billion euros.
Phase II will be carried out in the period 2022-2026 and consists of providing the financial resources for carrying out the project, negotiating and granting the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts;
procuring equipment with a long manufacturing cycle; assessing, preparing and scheduling the activities to be carried out, obtaining the opinion of the European Commission, as well as obtaining all the authorizations and approvals necessary to start the project.
Phase III, which will be carried out in the period 2027-2029, starts with the shutdown of unit 1 and consists of the actual performance of the works on the unit’s refurbishment and its recommissioning, in order to be commercially operated for another lifecycle of 30 years, after 2029.
700 MW CANDU unit 1 of NPP Cernavoda was commissioned in 1996 and has so far delivered over 133 TWh of electricity, representing 9 % of national consumption over a period of 26 years.
