First Romanian small nuclear reactor to be built in Doicesti
Date: May 24th 2022
Author: Peter Palčec
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Energy policy
, New technologies
, Nuclear Energy
Romania’s first small modular reactor (SMR) will be built in the rural commune of Doicesti in central Romania, Nuclearelectrica, the operator of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, said on Tuesday.
Nuclearelectrica has now confirmed that the plant will be built at the site of the former Doicesti coal-fired power plant in Dambovita County. This follows a thorough analysis of several potential sites across the country, which was funded with a USD 1.2m grant that Nuclearelectrica received in early 2021.
In a company press release, Cosmin Ghita, Nuclearelectrica’s CEO explained that several potential sites were identified and that the former Doicesti power plant’s site was considered the most appropriate for this phase, as it complied with specifications suited to NuScale’s design and the most advanced safety principles.
The construction and installation of the SMR project that Romania wants to implement with NuScale Power will cost an estimated USD 1.6bn. Nuclearelectrica plans to finish the construction of the plant by the end of the decade.
The Doicesti coal-fired power plant is the oldest one in Romania and was shut down in 2009 due to the high levels of pollution it was emitting.
In March, Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said that the small modular nuclear reactor developer Last Energy would develop another SMR pilot project in Romania, which would have a capacity of 20 MW.