Completion of the Chernavodsk nuclear power plant is estimated at $7 billion

Romania does not leave hope to complete the Chernavodsk nuclear power plant project, which began in the 1980s, but was only half completed. The cost of building two power units at rare Canadian CANDU reactors with a capacity of 1.4 GW, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy, will amount to $7.3 billion. An increase in nuclear power plant capacity will replace the production of coal-fired thermal power plants, as well as increase energy exports to Moldova.

The construction of two new nuclear power units with a total capacity of about 1.4 GW will cost Romania $7.29 billion, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja told Reuters. The power units will be built on the basis of the Canadian CANDU technology (a reactor in which heavy water D2O is used as a coolant and neutron moderator). The minister did not specify a possible launch date, but in 2021, the country’s authorities announced plans to begin construction in 2024, and to enter it in 2031.

The construction of two CANDU reactors is, in fact, the completion of the Chernavodsk nuclear power plant project near the Danube-Black Sea canal. Two power units are already operating there at CANDU reactors with a capacity of 720 MW each. Both power units began to be built in 1983. The first reactor was launched in the summer of 1996, and the second – only 24 years after the start of construction, in 2007. Since the 2010s, the country’s authorities have been discussing the completion of the third and fourth power units, but have constantly postponed the project due to financial difficulties.

The unit cost of construction of 1 MW in the region of $500 million is a quite adequate price tag, says Kommersant’s interlocutor in the expert community. The price was reduced due to the high degree of readiness of the site for the third and fourth power units, which were originally built, he believes. Thus, according to the Romanian state-owned company Nuclearelectrica, the site for the third block is ready by 52%, and for the fourth – by 30%.

After the launch of two new reactors, nuclear energy will account for one third of Romania’s total generation, Reuters notes. In addition, the country will be able to supply electricity to neighboring Moldova, the newspaper writes. In 2022, the share of the output of the Romanian nuclear power plant was about 21% in the total production, follows from the reporting of the Romanian energy market regulator ANRE.

CANDU is not a very popular type of reactor, it accounts for 6.5% of the installed capacity of the world fleet. One of the features is the ability to use unenriched natural uranium in the production of fuel assemblies. But to operate such nuclear power plants, it is necessary to produce heavy water, reminds Kommersant’s interlocutor in the industry, doubting the economic advantages of CANDU. Romania used to have a D2O plant, but it is now in the process of being decommissioned.

Sergei Rozhenko of Kept says Romania needs to expand its nuclear generation to replace its coal-fired power plants, which produce 10-18 billion kWh per year. The introduction of new blocks can almost completely replace this volume and make it possible to obtain a sufficient amount of basic generation relatively cheaply. The country needs to reduce emissions as Romania, as a member of the EU, sets itself the goal of decarbonizing the economy.

The export of electricity to Moldova can be an additional plus for the Romanian economy, Sergei Rozhenko believes. The energy system of Moldova and Ukraine has been synchronized with continental Europe since last year, and the main energy source of Moldova, the Moldavskaya GRES, is a rather old and inefficient station, which in the foreseeable future will require replacement or at least alternative supplies with an increase in gas prices.

Polina Smertina