23 Jan (NucNet): Romania will not have a balanced energy mix beyond 2025 without the completion of the planned Cernavodă-3 and -4 nuclear units, Cosmin Ghita, chief executive officer of Romanian nuclear operator Nuclearelectrica, said.
In an interview published on Nuclearelectrica’s website, Mr Ghita said the two new units will guarantee the long-term stability of the Romanian energy system by replacing existing generation capacity which is expected to become obsolete after 2025.
He said the completion of Cernavodă-3 and -4 is a priority for the Romanian state and for Nuclearelectrica and “all steps are being made” to move on to the project’s next phase – incorporation of a new project company.
Nuclear energy needs to play a major role in Romani’s decarbonisation strategy because it is a long-term steady source of electricity which can provide stability to the energy system and is less dependent on climatic conditions, Mr Ghita said.
In November 2015, Nuclearelectrica and China General Nuclear Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding on the development, construction, operation and eventual decommissioning of Cernavodă-3 and -4, which will both be of the Canadian Candu-6 design. Negotiations on a shareholder agreement have been continuing since then.
In October 2017, Romania’s energy minister told local media that Cernavodă-3 and -4 would be included in the country’s long-term energy strategy.
Mr Ghita said the energy ministry is expected to commission a study into the feasibility of using a contract for difference (CfD) scheme to finance construction of the units.
Mr Ghita said the study will benefit Nuclearelectrica and the Cernavodă-3 and -4 project because a CfD scheme is one of the ways considered in the project’s roadmap, based on the UK’s introduction of the same financing mechanisms for new-build at Hinkley Point C.
Romania already has two Candu-6 units in commercial operation, Cernavodă-1 and Cernavodă-2. Cernavodă-1 began commercial operation in December 1996 and Cernavodă-2 in October 2007.
