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Cernavoda looks to the future


Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL). Construction of the two-unit station began in the early 1980s. The 700 MWe Cernavoda 1 was commissioned in December 1996 and Cernavoda 2 in 2007. Construction of three more units began, but was stopped in 1990. The Cernavoda 3&4 project aims to complete two further Candu 6 reactors. Cernavoda 1&2 supply 20% of Romania’s electricity. SNN has also selected Candu Energy (now


Above: New Candu units are destined for Cernavodă


A new Law approving a Support Agreement for the construction of Cernavodă units 3&4 has been signed. The deal between the Romanian State and


nuclear utility SN Nuclearelectrica (SNN) moves the National Strategic Project forward. The strategy for the new Cernavodă NPP


project was approved by SNN shareholders in 2021 and will be implemented in three stages. Stage 1 began at the end of 2021 and will


last up to 24 months. It involves capitalisation of project company Energonuclear SA. A set of engineering and safety documentation will be prepared as the basis for a preliminary investment decision. As part of this phase, on 25 November 2021, Energonuclear signed the first contract with Candu Energy to provide engineering services to develop and update the required documentation. Stage 2 (Preliminary Works) is estimated to


take up to 30 months. It will include obtaining the Nuclear Safety Licence for construction and adoption of a Final Investment Decision. Stage 3, estimated to last 69-78 months,


consists of mobilising the site, starting construction, commissioning and starting commercial operation of unit 3 in 2030 and unit 4 in 2031. Nuclearelectrica says the intention, in line with the new strategy, is “to carry out this project in a Euro-Atlantic consortium on the basis of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the United States of America”. US Exim Bank has issued two letters of interest for the financing of technical services provided by the US in connection with Cernavodă. “It is clear that without the involvement of


the state and authorities in nuclear energy projects, the [new reactors] cannot be realised, said SNN CEO Cosmin Ghiță. He noted that the project “will add another 10 TWh of CO2


-free


energy to the national energy system”. Cernavoda, Romania’s only NPP, has two


commercially operational Candu 6 pressurised heavy water reactors supplied by Atomic


part of Canada’s SNC-Lavalin Group) to carry out additional pre-project work at Cernavoda 1 in preparation for life extension. As part of a $65m two-year agreement, SNC-Lavalin will perform long-term and front-end engineering services to prepare the project to extend its service life by another 30 years to 2060. Specialist personnel from the Canadian


nuclear division of SNC-Lavalin will undertake the design and procurement engineering work needed to implement the design changes and recommendations resulting SNC-Lavalin’s condition, assessment recently performed together with Italy’s Ansaldo Nuclear. These were selected by SNN as part of the unit 1 mid-life refurbishment. In addition, new infrastructure and buildings needed on site to support reactor retubation activities will be designed. SNC-Lavalin will work with Ansaldo Nuclear, which will provide engineering services for the classic part of the plant, continuing the long- term partnership between the companies. Other partner organisations include Sargent & Lundy, CITON and General Electric Steam Power, which will provide engineering services. The unit 1 refurbishment project began


in 2017, and is being implemented in three stages. Phase from 2017 to 2022, comprised: demonstrating the ability of the existing unit 1 reactor components to operate for more than 210,000 hours at rated power, at least until the end of 2026; outlining the purpose of the works within the project; and demonstrating its feasibility. A shareholders meeting in 2022 approved the feasibility study and investment decision. The estimated cost of the investment was put at €1.85bn. Phase II, from 2022 to 2026, will cover the


following activities: ensuring the financial resources for the realisation of the project; negotiating and awarding engineering, procurement & construction contracts; acquiring long-cycle manufacturing equipment; evaluating and programming the activities to be carried out; obtaining approval from the European Commission; and obtaining all the necessary authorisations and approvals. Phase III, from 2027 to 2029, will see implementation of the project. ■


round up


NEW BUILD RUSSIA’S TITAN-2 holding has begun installation of technological equipment in the fresh nuclear fuel storage building at the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Turkiye. The fuel will be checked and prepared at the facility before being loaded into the reactor.


FINLAND’S TEOLLISUUDEN VOIMA (TVO) said the EPR reactor at unit 3 of the Olkiluoto NPP (OL3) had restarted trial operation, with regular electricity production expected to begin in April. In autumn 2022, cracks were found in the feedwater pump impellers in OL3’s turbine island resulting in closure for repairs.


WORK HAS BEGUN to build of a canal for the removal of surface water at the construction site for units 3&4 of Russia’s Leningrad-II NPP. The general contracting organisation TITAN-2 will excavate and strengthen the bottom with geogrids and rubble and the slopes with turf.


ROSATOM HAS COMPLETED installing the roof of the turbine building of unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Turkiye. The entire process took three months, the first truss was installed in December. The roof consists of nine enlarged trusses with a total weight of 1140 tonnes, including roofing.


UNIT 2 OF the Belarus NPP will be put into commercial operation in October 2023, according to Minister of Energy Viktor Karankevich. He said that the first trial inclusion of the unit 2 in the network is planned for April when the output of the reactor will be increased to 40%.


POLISH PRIVATE ENERGY company ZE  Konin) and state-controlled Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) have established a special-purpose vehicle to manage the proposed deployment of South Korea’s APR-1400 NPPs in Poland.


WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC COMPANY has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bulgaria’s Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild on the potential deployment of one or more AP1000 reactors at the site. The agreement establishes a joint working group to initiate planning for the Generation III+ nuclear technology.


INSTALLATION OF A transport gateway at unit 1 of the Rooppur NPP, under construction by Rosatom in Bangladesh, has been completed. The transport lock is the largest piece of equipment at the NPP site. It is 12.7 metres long, 10 metres wide and weighs 235 tonnes.


www.neimagazine.com | April 2023 | 7


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