New Significant Milestones for Nuclearelectrica
The project to build the Doicesti small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) is moving to the next phase, after Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN) received the green light from the Romanian Government. Also, the European Commission adopted a positive opinion on the project of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda.
Green Light to SMR Project in Doicesti
Nuclearelectrica will convene two General Meetings of Shareholders (GMS), one ordinary and one extraordinary, in which it will propose shareholders to continue the project of building small modular reactors with American NuScale technology at Doicesti, carried out by RoPower Nuclear.
The Ministry of Energy has given its consent for the continuation of the Doicesti nuclear project and, in addition, has mandated Nuclearelectrica, the company it controls, to capitalize the project company, RoPower Nuclear, through a loan, in order to carry out the project.
“Approval of the continuation of the project based on the technology of Small Modular Reactors on the basis of the feasibility study documentation revision 1.1.” is the provision submitted to the shareholders in the ordinary GMS, according to a statement submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
The Extraordinary GMS will vote on “Approval of the FEED (Front-End Engineering and Design) Contract phase two and the continuation of the financing, through a loan granted to the project company RoPower Nuclear, in which Nuclearelectrica is a 50-50 shareholder with the Romanian company Nova Power and Gas. Importantly, future loans will be granted by the state-owned company to RoPower only if the latter is unable to obtain financing by other means.
In this respect, the following will be put to the vote:
- Approval to increase the ceiling of the loan contracted by RoPower Nuclear, as borrower, from SNN, as lender/creditor, pursuant to the Framework Loan Agreement No. 1 dated 16.08.2023, up to the amount of USD 243,000,000, and approval of the conclusion by RoPower Nuclear with SNN of the Addendum No. 3 to the Framework Loan Agreement No. 1 dated 16.08.2023, with the caveat that RoPower Nuclear S.A. will access this loan only to the extent that it will not be possible to secure the financing of the project from other sources (share capital, generated by the change in the shareholding structure of RoPower Nuclear, or bank loans or other sources of financing) and, in any case, only until such other sources of financing are identified;
- Approval of the conclusion, by SNN with RoPower Nuclear, of the Addendum No. 3 to the Pledge Agreement concluded by SNN with RoPower Nuclear, to guarantee the above-mentioned loan;
- Approval to empower the General Manager of RoPower Nuclear to sign, in the name and on behalf of RoPower Nuclear, the contracts referred to in letters a) and b), as well as any addenda thereto, within the value limits of the credit line subject of this decision and the general conditions approved for its granting, by this decision.
Energy prices, the great unknown
RoPower Nuclear, a company equally owned by Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power and Gas, aims to build a nuclear power plant at Doicesti, in Dambovita County, consisting of six small modular reactors (SMR) with technology developed by NuScale, with a total capacity of 462 MW.
NuScale wants to build SMRs in Romania, Kazakhstan, Poland and Ukraine. In Romania, the first module should be operational by the end of 2029, but the deadline may not be met. So far, no official cost estimate for the Doicesti SMR plant has been presented, due to the high price of the energy supplied.
NuScale Power announced last fall that it had agreed with the Association of Utah Municipalities to end the company’s small modular reactor project. The cost of energy was expected to reach USD 89/MWh, which was too much for the municipalities, the ones that were to consume the energy.
Positive opinion of the European Commission on the project of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda
Nuclearelectrica announced the adoption of the positive opinion of the European Commission on the project of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda, on the basis of Article 41 of the Euratom Treaty. The project is managed by the project company Energonuclear, wholly owned by (SNN).
The viewpoint submitted on July 1, 2024, reflects the assessment by the European Commission – Directorate General for Energy, of the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the project. Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers are required to notify the European Commission of planned investments and to demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards. Energonuclear notified the Commission about the Units 3 and 4 project in May 2023.
The opinion received is the result of an elaborate analysis of the information provided by the Romanian side, site visits to the CNE Cernavoda site and technical discussions over a period of 13 months. The Commission’s assessment is that the project to complete the construction of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda is in line with the objectives of the Euratom Treaty.
The positive view is accompanied by the usual recommendations for such projects, which aim at the appropriate application of the Euratom framework in the implementation and during the lifetime of the project. These recommendations will be implemented by the project developer in the next steps.
“The adoption of the positive view of the European Commission is a confirmation of our commitment to technical excellence and nuclear safety. We are delighted with this significant progress, and we are confident that the project of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda will make a decisive contribution to Romania’s energy security and sustainability. The Nuclearelectrica team is ready to implement the Commission’s recommendations and to successfully move forward with the next stages of the project. We also thank the Ministry of Energy for its assiduous efforts to accelerate the Romanian nuclear program, which includes the refurbishment of Unit 1, the design of Units 3 and 4 at CNE Cernavoda and the construction of small modular reactors,” said Cosmin Ghita, CEO of Nuclearelectrica.
The positive view communicated to the Romanian side represents an important milestone in the implementation of the project, attesting the compliance of CANDU 6 technology and its implementation at Cernavoda with the EU nuclear safety framework. With 4 nuclear units in operation in Romania, it is expected to avoid the emission of 20 million tons of CO2 per year and to create more than 19,000 jobs in the horizontal industry.