The National Strategic Project Units 3 and 4 Cernavoda NPP has received the favourable opinion of the the European Commission on the technical and nuclear safety aspects, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 project is developed by the project company, Energonuclear S.A., the subsidiary of Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A..

„The position [of the European Commission] was conveyed to the Romanian side on July 1, 2024 and reflects the assessment made by the EC Directorate-General for Energy, on the basis of Article 41 Euratom – on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the project,” reads a press release issued by the Energy Ministry.

Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers are required to notify the European Commission of investment projects in advance and to demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards. Energonuclear notified the Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 project in May 2023.

According to the cited institution, the EC’s point of view is the result of an elaborate analysis of the information provided by the Romanian side, site visits to Cernavod NPP and technical discussions that took place over a period of 13 months. Based on the Commission’s assessment, the Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 construction completion project is in line with the objectives of the Euratom Treaty.

With 4 nuclear units in operation in Romania, it is estimated that the emission of 20 million tons of CO2 will be avoided annually and more than 19,000 jobs in the horizontal industry will be created, says the Energy ministry.

The Energy ministry announced last September that the Canadian government intends to make available 3 billion Canadian dollars to finance the new CANDU nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda NPP.

The Canadian Government’s interest in financing the Units 3 and 4 project complements the interest expressed by the United States of America, through the US Exim Bank, in financing the technical services provided by the USA for the same units.

Nuclearelectrica is the Romanian national company producing electricity, heat and nuclear fuel that operates under the authority of the Ministry of Energy, with the Romanian state owning 82.49 percent of the shares and other shareholders 17.50 percent, after the company was listed on the stock exchange in 2013.

NPP (CNE) Cernavoda branch operates two CANDU nuclear units, which are two of the best performing units among the more than 400 nuclear power plants in the world, a nuclear fuel fabrication plant and is in the process of realizing an integrated fuel cycle through the acquisition of a uranium concentrate processing line, in order to support the company’s long-term investment projects.

AGERPRES