European Commission backs completion of two Romanian nuclear units

Two unfinished Romanian nuclear units at the Cernavoda power plant have received the European Commission’s green light for completion. Completing the units, whose construction began in the first half of the 1980s, would increase the country’s generating capacity by around 1300 MW. The operator expects the CANDU-6 units to enter operation around the turn of 2030 and 2031.

Romanian energy company Nuclearelectrica announced that it had received a positive opinion from the European Commission on completing two unfinished units at the Cernavoda power plant. Nuclearelectrica subsidiary Energonuclear submitted information on the completion of Units 3 and 4 in May last year. According to the Commission, the positive opinion follows an analysis of information provided by Romania, visits to the power plant and 13 months of technical discussions.

“The adoption of the European Commission’s positive opinion confirms our commitment to technical excellence and nuclear safety. We are pleased with this significant progress and are confident that the Units 3 and 4 project at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant will make a decisive contribution to Romania’s energy security and sustainability,” said Cosmin Ghita, CEO of Nuclearelectrica.

The two CANDU-6 heavy-water nuclear units, each with a capacity of 706 MW (gross) and 655 MW (net), are intended to help Romania generate low-emissions electricity and meet its climate targets. Completion of the two nuclear units was made possible by a law approved by the Romanian government in March last year. The new law also provides for support for the units through a Contract for Difference.

35-year construction hiatus

Work on Romania’s only nuclear power plant, Cernavoda, began in 1982 (Unit 1). In each subsequent year until 1987, with the exception of 1986, construction began on one new unit. However, of the five units in total, work continued uninterrupted only on Unit 1, which entered service at the end of 1996, after a substantial delay. Romania suspended construction of Units 2 to 5 in 1990. Only Unit 2 was completed, in 2007, after a four-year construction hiatus.

Over the past 20 years, the country has actively discussed completing the remaining three units with countries including Russia and China. It ultimately decided to proceed with completing Units 3 and 4, using the already familiar Canadian CANDU-6 units. The Unit 5 project was cancelled entirely because of unsuitable ground conditions at the site.

“The Nuclearelectrica team is ready to implement the Commission’s recommendations and successfully continue with the next stages of the project. We also thank the Ministry of Energy for its persistent efforts to accelerate Romania’s nuclear programme. This includes the refurbishment of Unit 1, the completion of Units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda power plant and the construction of small modular reactors,” Ghita added.

Nuclearelectrica estimates the cost of completing the units, which are currently around 15% complete, at 7 billion EUR (around 176 billion CZK). According to the latest information, the company plans to bring them into commercial operation in 2030 and 2031.