“If we look at Romania’s generation capacities, we see that while today we have extra facilities, many of them will be shut down and we will have to resort to imports in ten years. Nuclear reactors 3 and 4 are a necessary effort we propose to our shareholders,” Lulache said Tuesday at the ZF Power Summit conference.
Romania’s energy exports stood last year at around 15% of production, which was the highest in ten years. Exports were driven by a lower price compared to a rise in prices and demand for electricity on foreign markets. Among external factors were floods that affected Serbia in June, which incapacitated several power plants in the country and a rise in imports in Hungary, Albania and other countries.
In October last year, Nuclearelectrica, which operates Romania’s sole nuclear power plant, in Cernavoda, selected China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) for a joint-venture that should build the plant’s third and fourth reactors. CGN was the sole bidder and would become the majority shareholder of the venture.
Lulache said in January an agreement could be signed with CGN this year, but “not under any circumstances”.
The project for the construction of two more nuclear reactors, initiated under the communist regime, was put back on the table in 2007 but four of six selected investors withdrew from the joint-venture in 2010. By the end of 2013, all investors had withdrawn.
Nuclearelectrica is 81.3% owned by the state, while investment fund Fondul Proprietatea owns 9.7%. Nuclearelectrica covers around 18% of the country’s electricity needs.