End-2019, the capacity of the 442 nuclear reactors in operation globally was 392 GWe. Six new reactors entered commercial operation in 2019, five reactors entered the construction phase and 13 reactors were shut down.
In 2019, the global average capacity factor was 82.5%, higher than 79.8% in 2018, constantly maintaining the high capacity factor in operation, which was achieved in the last 20 years. The capacity factor is an indicator of operational performance.
Currently, with an annual production of approximately 10 TWh, Nuclearelectrica covers, with its two CANDU reactors in operation, approximately 18% of Romania’s consumption need.
The development of the project for a third and fourth nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear facility in Romania, under an intergovernmental agreement with the United States, will place Romania, at European level, among the countries whose nuclear capacity will double. Retrofitting the first unit of the power plant in Cernavod will ensure the same production, of 700 MWh, for 30 more years, providing Romania, overall, the energy produced by four CANDU reactors and the opportunity to implement the option of small modular reactors (SMRs), starting 2035. This procedure already is on the agenda of Nuclearelectrica, through a $1.2 million grant offered by USTDA.
With the two nuclear reactors it operates at Cernavoda, Romania has a capacity factor of 93.6% during the 2017-2019 period, the second best globally, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency,
Nuclearelectrica is 82.5% held by the Romanian State, through the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment. With a RON6.7 billion market capitalization, Nuclearelectrica shares have been trading up 26.3% since the beginning of 2021, amid deals worth RON103.4 million, per stock market data.