COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2023 Romania: Redoubling on reactors
Romania is pushing forward with a new era of nuclear power and a combination of refurbishment and life extension, as well as new builds large and small.
Romania currently has two operating nuclear reactors. Cernadova units 1 and 2 are 650 MWe CANDU 6 PHWRs that together generate about a fifth of the country’s electricity needs. The plant also provides district heating to the nearby Cernavoda township. Both reactors are relatively new with the first reactor beginning
operations in 1996 and the second starting in 2007. Nonetheless, despite their relative youth one of the plants is already slated for refurbishment. In September 2017 Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN), the state nuclear power corporation which operates Cernavoda, decided to refurbish unit 1 from 2026, when the current operating licence expires, through to 2028. The proposals will ensure continued operation for a period of 30 years. In October Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a consortium agreement with SNN, Canada’s Candu Energy and Italy’s Ansaldo Nucleare, to jointly support the refurbishment of unit 1 which will include retubing and refurbishment works. The second unit is also earmarked for a 30-year life extension. More recently, in October 2021, the government adopted an
Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate Change which confirmed plans for two further units at Cernadova by 2032. Units
Above: Plans are advancing for a further two CANDU reactors at Cernadova in Romania
3 and 4 will also be of the CANDU design. A draft law on the agreement to build units 3 and 4 was adopted in December 2022 and subsequently approved by parliament. Like many other nations, Romania is also looking at SMR developments and Romania’s National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities (CNCAN) has already issued a Licensing Basis Document (LBD) for NuScale’s six module VOYGR design rated at 462 MWe. NuScale and RoPower – a project development company established by SNN – and Nova Power & Gas are currently conducting a Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED) study to analyse the preferred site at a former coal plant in Doicesti, Romania. The country aims to be the first in Europe to deploy a NuScale VOYGR plant.
Slovenia: Seeking new nuclear
Slovenia only owns half of a single nuclear power plant, but has ambitions to build a second unit too.
Slovenia has only a single nuclear reactor that it shares with Croatia. The Krško nuclear power plant is a 688 MWe PWR of Westinghouse design that began commercial operations in 1983. As designed, Krško was expected to have a 40-year lifespan although a 20-year life extension was announced in 2015 that would take
operations out to 2043, subject to inspections in 2023 and 2033. The Ministry of the Environment subsequently approved that extension. In 2001, Krško’s steam generators were replaced and the plant has benefitted from several upgrades that have boosted the original nameplate output by around 10%. The plant is operated Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško (NEK), which itself is jointly owned by Croatia’s Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP Group) and Slovenia’s GEN Energija. Despite only owning half of the plant and its output, nuclear power contributes more than a third of Slovenia’s annual electricity demand. Krško was shut down in October after the discovery of a leak in the primary circuit connection system pipeline. Following investigation, a decision was taken to replace the complete pipeline segment from the reactor vessel to the first valve and work has begun removing all 121 fuel elements from the reactor vessel. Slovenia is currently considering building a second unit at the
Above: The Krško nuclear power plant is a 688 MWe PWR jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia
Krško site with an output of 1100 to 1600 MWe. The project, known as JEK 2, was first proposed by GEN Energija in January 2010 and with the government’s climate strategy putting nuclear power at its centre, in July 2021 the Infrastructure Ministry issued an energy permit for JEK 2. A final investment decision is due by 2028 at the latest. After modernisation and a switch to an 18 month fuel cycle in 2005, Krško can produce over 6 TWh in a year. GEN says JEK 2 could provide 8 TWh over the same period. This year NEK also announced the start of operations at a new used fuel dry storage facility at Krško. The facility will also meet all the conditions needed for the extension of the operation of Krško.
www.neimagazine.com | WNE Special Edition | 69
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