Nuclearelectrica announces the advancement of the Unit 1 Refurbishment Project by signing the first contract with Candu Energy, member of the SNC-Lavalin group, and the Unit 1 Design Authority and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for CANDU technology, in phase II of the project, according to a statement of the company.
Under the contract, Candu Energy will provide engineering services for the development of technical documentation for the purchase of long-cycle components of the reactor, which will be replaced at the Refurbishment of Unit 1, in the process called “reactor retubbing” (Fuel Channel Replacement, Calandria Tubes and Fideri – ICCTCF).
Candu Energy will also provide engineering services to assess the condition of the set of specialized tools that will be used to replace the reactor components and develop documentation for the purchase of components that need replacement or modification.
CANDU reactors have an initial service life of 30 years, which can be extended by another 30 years, following a refurbishment process, which Nuclearelectrica is currently doing with Unit 1, which entered commercial operation in 1996.
According to the report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), carried out in collaboration with the Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA), in 2020, on electricity costs, the refurbishment of nuclear units has the lowest cost of electricity of all energy sources – on average 32 USD/MWh (compared to 50 USD/MWh for wind energy; 56 USD/MWh for solar panels; 91 USD/MWh for coal-fired power plants). The cost of energy generated by new, large nuclear capacities is of 69 USD/MWh, according to the same report.
“We are proud to sign the first contract with Candu Energy, which advances the Unit 1 Re-Technology Project at Cernavoda NPP. Romania needs nuclear capacities to produce clean, stable and accessible energy, as a solution to achieve energy security and consumer protection. We have a long-term mission to generate clean energy at standards of excellence, and the refurbishment of Unit 1 will provide Romania with another 30 years of baseload energy,” said Cosmin Ghiță, CEO of Nuclearelectrica.
At the same time, given the complexity and strategic importance of the project, the company has hired more than 100 new employees since 2021, who will be part of the organizational structure of the project and benefit from specialization in accordance with nuclear standards. Some of the new employees will be sent to specialize in Canadian power plants, which have already gone through the experience of refurbishing nuclear units.
“Cernavoda NPP has over 25 years of expertise in nuclear operation at the highest safety standards. We have a highly qualified staff, and the Unit 1 refurbishment project capitalizes on this expertise. The refurbishment of a nuclear unit is a very complex process, similar to the construction of new nuclear units, a project for which the refurbishment team of Cernavoda NPP is prepared. We are delighted to start the collaboration for this strategic project with Candu Energy,” said Sorin Ghelbereu, Director of Strategic Projects, Cernavoda NPP.