Romanian state-controlled nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica (BVB: SNN), the operator of the Cernavoda power plant, signed a new contract worth USD 65 mln, part of the refurbishing of its first nuclear reactor.

According to the minister of energy Virgil Popescu, in the framework of the two-year agreement, SNC-Lavalin of Canada will perform long-term and front-end engineering services in order to prepare the future project for the refurbishment of the nuclear reactor, Adevarul reported. The refurbishment will extend the operating life of the Unit 1 reactor by another 30 years until 2060.

The modernization project of Cernavoda’s first reactor was initiated in 2017 and is being implemented in three stages.

The reactor, with an installed capacity of 700 MW, was put into operation in 1996 and has delivered, until now, 133 mln MWh, representing 9% of national consumption, over a period of 26 years.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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