Romania To Double Its Nuclear Supply By Next Decade

The Romanian government has adopted the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate Change, which calls for two new CANDU reactors at Cernavoda by 2031 and the refurbishment of an existing unit there in 2037.

This decision would double the country’s nuclear power supply in a decade.

According to Romanian Minister of Energy Virgil Popescu, the plan is a “comprehensive document, which has been developed and adapted to the latest realities“, and it is designed to address the five main aspects of collective energy policy for countries in the European Union:

• energy security,
• decarbonisation,
• energy efficiency,
• internal energy market,
• research, innovation and competitiveness.

Nuclear energy already plays a major strategic role in Romanian power supply, with two CANDU reactors at the Cernavoda power plant supplying about 19% of electricity, and under this plan, it would double in size.

The plan approved foresees two new units – Cernavoda 3 and 4 – starting up in 2030 and 2031, respectively, with capacities of 675 MWe each.

Romania has already signed a range of agreements towards this project with international partners, including the USA, France and Canada.

Romania’s plan proposes to support low-carbon power systems, such as nuclear and renewables as well as storage, to ensure the diversification of energy sources and the flexibility of the national system. The plan includes some 6.9 GW of renewable capacity by 2030.

The integrated plan also includes ongoing support for research and development of advanced reactors, specifically its ALFRED lead-cooled fast reactor design. This is funded by the European Union through the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform and the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative.

Read the full news on World Nuclear News.