Industrial park in southern Romania fully leased for NuScale small modular reactor
The Priboiu Industrial Park, located in the village of the same name in the Brănești commune, Dâmbovița county, is set to be fully leased for the future construction site of the 462 MW nuclear power plant with small modular reactors, or SMR, designed by US-based company NuScale, according to Profit.ro.
Negotiations were completed in December 2024 regarding the park’s 32 hectares that will be used for the preparation of the construction site once the EPC project of the SMRs starts. The EPC segment of the project regards the engineering, procurement, and construction phases.
Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned Romanian company producing energy from nuclear sources, and Nova Power&Gas each own 50% of the capital of RoPower Nuclear SA, the joint venture established to implement the SMR nuclear power plant project at Doicești, on the site of a former coal-fired power plant near the Priboiu Industrial Park.
The Priboiu Industrial Park is owned and operated by the company of the same name, fully controlled by the Dâmbovița County Council. The village is located about 4 kilometers by road from Doicești. As of last year, the industrial park at Priboiu had 9 tenant companies active in manufacturing and commerce, according to Profit.ro.
Romania is set to make the final investment decision on the construction of a 462 MW nuclear power plant at Doicești in the fourth quarter of 2025.
"Things are progressing well with the engineering and design study. [...] The government will decide, or Nuclearelectrica will decide whether to move forward with the final phase, which is the actual construction of the plant," NuScale CEO John Hopkins said last month.
Several financial steps to fund the project have already been taken. Nevertheless, costs remain very high. Romania’s Energy Ministry estimates that the project would require a budget of EUR 4.9 billion.
In November 2023, NuScale officially announced the cancellation of its similar project in the United States, which was supposed to be the company's first of its kind in the world. Costs had risen by over 75% due to the massive rise in the cost of necessary materials and equipment, as well as the increase in financing costs amid the rise in interest rates.
(Photo source: nuclearelectrica.ro)
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