Romania has decided to build six small modular nuclear reactors

Romania is moving forward with its small modular reactor nuclear power plant project. The nuclear part of the Doicești power plant has received a final investment decision, moving it into the implementation phase. Six small modular reactors made by NuScale, with a total installed capacity of 462 MW, will be built at the site of a coal-fired power plant. The country expects commercial operation to begin in 2033, with construction costs estimated at between 6 and 7 billion dollars.

Romanian energy company Nuclearelectrica announced that its shareholders had approved the final investment decision for the Doicești nuclear power plant project. The plant will feature six small modular reactors made by US company NuScale. Each reactor has a capacity of 77 MW, giving the entire plant a planned installed capacity of 462 MW.  Romania began preparations for the project in March 2019 and established RoPower Nuclear in 2022 to oversee its development.

“The final investment decision for the Doicești project marks the transition from the analysis phase to implementation, cementing Romania’s position at the forefront of Europe’s new nuclear industry. Over the next six months, the project will enter a phase in which financing mechanisms will be defined and negotiations held with potential investors for the implementation phase,” said Bogdan Ivan, Romania’s energy minister.

The project now requires the completion of geotechnical surveys, further progress on the licensing process, contract negotiations and the identification of supply chains. An updated project budget is expected to follow. Romania’s prime minister said some time ago that the cost of the six modular reactors should be between 6 and 7 billion dollars (roughly 123 - 144 billion Kč).

“With the small modular reactor project in Doicești, Romania is putting itself on the international nuclear industry map through its know-how and the development of a supply chain. At a time of energy transition, modular reactors offer a solution for ensuring energy security and independence,” said Cosmin Ghiță, chief executive of Nuclearelectrica.

Replacing a coal-fired power plant

The new nuclear power plant will be built at the site of the existing coal-fired power plant, which has an installed capacity of 600 MW and is located about 90 kilometres from the capital, Bucharest. Nuclearelectrica estimates that the project will create nearly 200 new permanent jobs, 1 500 jobs in construction and 2 300 jobs in component manufacturing and assembly, as well as in the operation and maintenance of the facility.

“The Doicești project represents 60 years of clean energy. The RoPower team is a group of professionals who have worked, and will continue to work, on a safe and technologically advanced small modular reactor project. We remain committed to this project, which gives Romania an opportunity to once again demonstrate that it is at the forefront of energy production using nuclear technologies,” added Valentin Ovidiu Nae, chief executive of RoPower Nuclear.

The first of the six modular reactors is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2033. Before then, however, Nuclearelectrica plans to bring online two conventional 700MW CANDU units (3 and 4) at the Cernavodă power plant, whose construction began in the 1980s. The investment is expected to cost 7 billion EUR (roughly 170 billion Kč).