Romania signs main engineering contract for two nuclear reactors (updated)

Fluor

15/11/2024 13:36

(Adds Nuclearelectrica CEO comment, updates throughout)
       BUCHAREST, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Romanian state-owned
nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica  ROSNN.BX  signed the
main engineering contract to add two more reactors at its plant
in Cernavoda on the Danube river with a consortium of four
firms, it said on Friday. 
    The European Union state currently has two 706-megawatt (MW)
reactors which use Canadian CANDU technology, owned by
AtkinsRealis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin group, accounting
for a fifth of Romania's power production.
    It plans to add two more 700 MW reactors using the same
technology by 2031 and 2032, respectively. 
    Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja has said the contract,
which was signed on Friday at COP29 in Baku, will set the new
units on a path of no return.
    The consortium comprises Canada's AtkinsRealis, U.S. Fluor
Corporation, Sargent & Lundy and Italy's Ansaldo Nucleare. The
contract is estimated to cost 3.2 billion euros ($3.38 billion)
and take nine years to complete pending a final investment
decision. 
    "Today marks a major milestone in the advancement and
ultimately the completion of Romania's strategic Cernavoda Units
3 and 4 project," the company's chief executive Cosmin Ghita
said. 
    "Once Units 3 and 4 are connected to the grid, 66% of
Romania's clean energy will be provided by nuclear energy."
    The company did not reveal the updated cost estimate for the
units. Prior estimates ranged from 6.5 billion to 7 billion
euros in total. U.S. Exim Bank has committed funding for the
project. 

 (Reporting by Luiza Ilie
Editing by Ros Russell)
 ((luiza.ilie@thomsonreuters.com; +4021 527 0312; https://www.reuters.com/journalists/luiza-ilie;))