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Nuclearelectrica SA and Nova Power & Gas SRL launched on Tuesday RoPower Nuclear SA, the project company for the development of small modular reactors in Romania, on the site of the former coal-fired power plant in Doicesti, southern Dambovita County, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES.
The new project company RoPower Nuclear SA will generate over 200 permanent jobs in the power plant, 1,500 jobs in construction, 2,300 jobs in production and will help Romania avoid over 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, bringing, at the same time, many other socio-economic benefits to the local community. To begin with, the project company RoPower Nuclear SA will be based in Doicesti, following the commitment to contribute to the development of the local community.
Jose W. Fernandez, Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment of the Department of State of the United States of America and the Minister of Energy of Romania, Virgil Popescu, attended the signing ceremony of the Shareholders' Declaration, at the Ministry of Energy, in Romania.
The project company RoPower Nuclear SA, owned in equal parts by SC Nuclearelectrica SA and Nova Power & Gas SA, will take steps to implement the first NuScale VOYGR-6 power plant (462 MWe) in Romania this decade. The power plant will use NuScale Power Module technology from NuScale, the only SMR company that has obtained design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The installed capacity can also be supplemented with renewable sources, with a capacity of approximately 80MWe, which would make the new energy complex exceed the capacity of the former Doicesti plant.
The candidate site at Doicesti was selected following a study carried out on the basis of a USD 1.2 million grant obtained by Nuclearelectrica from the USTDA for the identification and evaluation of potential sites for small modular reactors. In addition, in August 2022, at the request of Nuclearelectrica, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out a SEED (Site and External Events Design) mission to evaluate the process that was followed in choosing the first site for the development of a reactor plant small modular units (SMR) from Doicesti, Dambovita County, Romania.
Following the allocation of a USD 14 million grant announced by US President Joe Biden in June 2022, the RoPower Nuclear project company will begin the Preliminary Stage of the Initial Engineering and Design Study (FEED Study) for small modular reactors (SMRs), consisting of a series of engineering and design activities and studies, in-depth technical analyses on site, as well as licensing and authorization activities, in compliance with all international and national standards. In addition, within the FEED Study, the IAEA recommendations will be applied, following the SEED mission carried out in August 2022.
Nuclearelectrica S.A. is the Romanian national company producing electricity, heat and nuclear fuel, which operates under the authority of the Romanian Ministry of Energy, the state holding 82.49% of the shares and other shareholders, 17.50%, after the company's listing on the stock exchange in 2013. Nuclearelectrica has a major role at the national level, contributing over 18% of nuclear energy in the total energy production and 33% of the total CO2-free energy production in Romania.
