RSS
Nuclear energy is and will remain priority of Romania's energy policy
Nuclear energy is and will remain a priority of Romania's energy policy, and the project of Cernavoda reactors 3 and 4 will be completed, said on Wednesday Minister-delegate for Energy Razvan Nicolescu, paying visit to the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda (south-eastern Romania).
'Given the revision of Romania's energy strategy, some of the first conclusions show very clearly that nuclear energy is and will remain a priority of Romania's energy policy. The decision on setting up the reactors 3 and 4 at Cernavoda has been already made, we want to implement it as soon as possible, find partners for this project,' Nicolescu told a press conference.
He also said that it's necessary that Transelectrica's development plan for the next ten years includes the reinforcement of energy transport lines from Cernavoda to the rest of the country, in order for the network to take over also the energy produced by reactors 3 and 4.
'A part of this capacity is currently used by the wind energy in the Dobrogea region. The calculations made by Nuclearelectrica reveal that Transelectrica needs at least 100 million euros for this investment,' Nicolescu said.
According to him, the operation standards of Cernavoda Units 1 and 2 are very high, and Nuclear Engineering International publication placed Romania at the top of the world rankings on the highest utilization factor of a nuclear power plant. There are 73 nuclear power plants worldwide, with 404 reactors. Unit 2 of Cernavoda ranks 5th worldwide, and Cernavoda reactor 1 ranks 16th, Nicolescu stressed.
'Two or three weeks ago, we launched a discussion topic in Brussels, to use European funds to finance research in the improvement of operation standards in nuclear units and as regards nuclear fuel storage. Just as European funds are given for research in renewables or emission abatement, there is also the need for nuke research and long-term solutions as regards nuclear fuel storage,' Nicolescu pointed out.