Nuclear power in Romania
This article needs to be updated.(March 2012) |
Nuclear power in Romania provides around 20% of its electricity, with two nuclear reactors commencing operations in 1996 and 2007. In 2020, Romania generated a total of 56.1 TWh of electricity. The generation mix was composed of hydro (28%), nuclear (20%), natural gas (15%), coal (17%), wind (12%), solar (3%), and biofuels & waste (less than 1%). The Romanian government strongly supports nuclear energy.[1]
In 1977 the
Currently the plant has two fully operational
In 2002 and 2006, Romania made efforts to complete unit 3 and 4, respectively. The cost estimate put completion of both reactors at
20 January 2011,
In November 2015 Nuclearelectrica and the China General Nuclear Power Group signed an memorandum of understanding regarding the construction, operation and decommissioning of Cernavoda 3 and 4.[8]
In February 2020 the prime minister announced that the country would no longer partner with CGN for the project. In October 2020 it was announced that the USA would finance the construction of Cernavoda 3&4, as well as the refurbishment programme of unit 1. In March 2021 Nuclearelectrica said it expects to commission unit 3 by 2031, starting construction in about 2024.The largely-new reactors will be updated versions of the Candu 6, but not the full EC6 version, since the concrete structures are already built. Unit 3 was reported to be 52% completed and 30% for unit 4, though in 2017 the reported figures were 15% and 14%. They would have an operating lifetime of 30 years with the possibility of a 25-year extension. Some 1000 tonnes of heavy water has been produced and is in storage.[9]
The partner for Nuclearelectrica in the construction will be from the USA, NuScale Power, rather than China, with a consortium of USA, Canada and France undertaking the construction.[10]
Nuclear waste
In Romania, spent nuclear fuel is first kept at reactor sites for 6-10 years. It's then transferred to Cernavoda's Dry Storage Facility (DICA), using
Energy production
Nuclear | Total consumption | Percentage[12] | |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | 0.91 | 58.06 | 1.57% |
1997 | 5.13 | 54.65 | 9.39% |
1998 | 4.90 | 51.14 | 9.58% |
1999 | 4.81 | 48.51 | 9.92% |
2000 | 5.22 | 49.65 | 10.51% |
2001 | 5.04 | 51.30 | 9.82% |
2002 | 5.11 | 52.18 | 9.79% |
2003 | 4.54 | 52.42 | 8.66% |
2004 | 5.27 | 53.99 | 9.76% |
2005 | 5.28 | 56.91 | 9.28% |
2006[13] | 5.63 | 62.69 | 8.98% |
2007[12] | 7.09 | 54.45 | 13.02% |
2008 | 10.34 | 58.95 | 17.54% |
2009 | 10.82 | 52.52 | 20.6% |
2010 | 10.71 | 54.98 | 19.48% |
2011 | 10.81 | 56.95 | 18.98% |
2012 | 10.56 | 54.38 | 19.42% |
2013 | 10.70 | 53.99 | 19.82% |
2014 | 10.75 | 58.14 | 18.49% |
2015 | 10.71 | 61.80 | 17.33% |
2016 | 10.39 | 60.76 | 17.1% |
2017 | 10.58 | 59.94 | 17.65% |
2018 | 10.46 | 60.81 | 17.2% |
2019 | 10.37 | 56.15 | 18.47% |
2020 | 10.58 | 53.14 | 19.91% |
2021 | 10.40 | 56.31 | 18.47% |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Nuclear Power in Romania | Romanian Nuclear Energy - World Nuclear Association". world-nuclear.org. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ "A Candu fiasco in Romania" CBC: The Fifth Estate, 16 January 1990 <http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/a-candu-fiasco-in-romania>
- ^ 2007 News Releases – Second CANDU Unit in European Union Officially In Service Archived 2007-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cernavoda 2 achieves initial criticality Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Draft agreement finalized for Romanian reactors". World Nuclear News. 2008-03-07. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Nuclear Power in Romania." Australian Uranium Association. March 2008. <http://www.uic.com.au/nip93.htm>
- ^ rwe.com 20 January 2011: GDF SUEZ, RWE and Iberdrola have decided not to continue to participate in the Cernavoda nuclear project in Romania. See also "UPDATE 2-RWE, Iberdrola, GDF Suez exit Romania nuclear plan". Reuters. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Romania and USA agree to nuclear cooperation". World Nuclear News. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Nuclear Power in Romania". June 2023.
- ^ "Romania To Build Two New Nuclear Reactors with US Technology". 10 November 2022.
- ^ "International Energy Annual (IEA) - long-term historical international energy statistics" Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "PRIS Database - Country Profile Romania". IAEA. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ Electric energy production by type of energy plant Archived 2007-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, National Institute of Statistics