The next phase of site-specific engineering studies for the Doicesti small modular reactors project will be launched on Wednesday, with this carbon-free energy source expected to help phase out Romania's coal-fired assets and position it as a potential hub in the SMR supply chain, U.S. Department of Energy's Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC) Business Forum on Tuesday.
"I am excited about the announcements that you made this morning, for Fluor and Sargent & Lundy reaching an agreement with Romania's SNN to refurbish and develop Cernavoda. This project was the result of an innovative, inter-governmental agreement between the United States and Romania on energy cooperation and what this agreement does is it sets up a continuous process for dialogue and for support and for partnership in exchange for a consideration of U.S. goods and services. (...) And out of the same agreement, that the announcement about this furtherance of the small modular reactors comes as well. We will be announcing a site-specific engineering study that the United States will be funding to make sure that this is a success. We're excited about that, we're excited about the fact that it is replacing a retiring coal plant, that's the energy transition that we're talking about," Jennifer Granholm said.
On the other hand, Jennifer Granholm stressed that the war in Ukraine "has tested our resolve and our resilience," but it also led to reducing dependence on Russian gas and oil and to investing in renewables.
"We have all reduced our reliance on Russian oil and gas-including by connecting our Moldovan partners to the European grid. And we have invested to diversify in renewables like wind and solar-limitless resources that no dictator can hold hostage," Granholm also said.
Thus, she added, P-TECC nations are at the forefront of a new energy economy, one that protects our climate and our health, saves our people's money and creates future-facing jobs in every region where it takes root.
High-level representatives from the public and private energy sectors gathered at the Palace of Parliament on Tuesday at the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC) Business Forum and the Green Cities Alliance event to discuss energy security, energy transition, infrastructure projects and how cities are implementing strategies to accelerate clean pathways.
The events are part of the fifth meeting of the P-TECC, organised by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Romanian Ministry of Energy and the Atlantic Council, and will continue on Wednesday with a ministerial meeting that will focus on the role of industrial policy in achieving transatlantic energy security and climate goals.
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