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Nuclearelectrica's Lulache says negotiations over nuclear units 3, 4 have reached finish line
Negotiations with China's CGN over the construction of units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant have reached the finish line, and among the unsettled aspects is the role of the Romanian Government in the project, Director General of Nuclearelectrica, Romania's national nuclear power operator, Danilea Lulache told Agerpres on Wednesday.
"We are on the finish line, but there are still some aspects to be clarified, primordially, the role of the Romanian Government in the project. There is still one round of talks with various state bodies and we need some little extra time," said Lulache.
At a meeting on Monday, Nuclearelectrica's extraordinary general meeting approved an extension to December 20 of the deadline for negotiations over reactors 3 and 4. The deadline had previously been extended several times, with September 8, 2016 having been the last before Monday's extension.
One week previously, Romania's Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu said the project for the construction of units 3 and 4 at the nuclear-power plant at Cernavoda will be included in Romania's energy strategy because more than one billion euro had already been invested in it.
"It is clear that there is room in the nuclear industry for units 3 and 4 in all scenarios, or at least that is what our modelling shows. And that is also so because of some particular circumstance, as we have already invested at least one billion euro, quite a large amount, in these reactors. There is already infrastructure in place that has been for. There is also a reason why this project makes sense. It makes sense because of decarbonisation," said Grigorescu.
He added that Romania also has the necessary expertise to conduct such a project.
In a support letter early this year, the Romanian Government certified that the project for units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant is a strategic priority for Romania that can be implemented only with state aid, Lulache told a news conference in May 2016. She added that the letter mentioned the state-aid schemes that could be activated for the project.
On November 9, 2015, Nuclearelectrica and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the development, construction, operation and decommissioning of units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant in south-eastern Romania.