The United States will provide more than $3 billion worth of funding for the construction of two new nuclear reactors in NATO-member Romania, which is expected to commence early next year, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca announced Wednesday.
The eastern European country secured the funding from the Washington-based export credit agency Export-Import Bank (EXIM) which finances exports of US goods and services, but it’s still not clear which US firm or firms would construct the reactors.
The US loan will help the country cover about a third of the amount necessary for the construction of the two reactors at the Cernavoda plant – Romania’s only nuclear power plant operational since the 1990s that covers approximately one-fifth of the country’s electricity needs – while the rest of the needed funding will come from other financing, Ciuca added without giving further details.
The deal was signed during the UN climate summit COP27 in Egypt amid global energy uncertainty aggravated by the war in Ukraine and represents an important step towards the country’s energy independence.
Built with Canadian technology, Cernavoda’s existing two reactors have a total capacity of 1,400 MW, enough to cover approximately one-fifth of Romania’s domestic electricity needs. Slated to start in March or April 2023, the construction of two additional nuclear reactors at Cernavoda is expected to be completed in 2030.
Back in 2008, six European companies – GDF Suez, Iberdrola, CEZ, RWE, Enel, and ArcelorMittal – had initially committed to the project but pulled out later due to uncertainties surrounding the future of the plant.
Cernavoda’s 1 and 2 were put into operation in 1996 and 2007, but reinvestment in them is becoming increasingly necessary since the lifetime of Unit 1 expires in 2026, after which it’ll be decommissioned for refurbishment to extend its lifetime by another 30 years.
The refurbishment process with a total value of around $1.8 billion will start in 2027 and last two years. Unit 2 will need refurbishment in 2037.
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