Refurbishment of Unit 1
Context
Refurbishing Unit 1 means another 30 years of operation after 2029, at less than half the cost of a new nuclear reactor. Concretely, it means another 30 years without CO2 emissions. In terms of costs, implicit in the subsequent market impact, an NEA-OECD study confirms that extending the life of nuclear units has the lowest cost of all sources, including renewables, of CO2 ($35) compared to energy wind ($50) and solar ($94).
Description
CANDU reactors have an initial lifetime of 30 years. Following a retrofit process, this lifetime can be extended by a further 30 years, which SNN is currently doing with Unit 1, which entered commercial operation in 1996. Unit 2 was commissioned in 2007, so we can discuss upgrading Unit 2 at the level of 2037.
Capacity
700 MW
Output
Unit 1 CNE Cernavodă, from
- has delivered 127 million MWh to date, which represents 9% of national consumption over 25 years.
- avoided the release into the atmosphere of 125 million tons of CO2, which represents the equivalent of the emissions produced by all cars in Romania for over 6 years.
5 million tons of CO2 avoided annually
Stages of realization
Phase 1 of Unit 1 Refurbishment was started in 2017 and was dedicated to identifying and defining the activities required to refurbish U1 so that it will continue to operate for another 30-year life cycle. The final product of this phase was the elaboration of the Feasibility Study, approved in the AGM of 23.02.2022, at an estimated investment cost of 1.85 million Euros.
Phase 2 of the project begins after the approval of the feasibility study and includes the provision of financial resources for the development of the U1 Refurbishment Project, the preparation of the execution of the activities identified and defined for the refurbishment of U1 in Phase I and obtaining all the necessary approvals and approvals to carry out this project.
Phase 3 of the project begins with the shutdown of Unit 1 and consists in the actual performance of the works from the U1 Refurbishment Project, in the unit’s facilities, as well as its re-operation, with a view to commercial exploitation for a new 30-year operating cycle, after the year 2029.
Recommissioning
2029
Estimated cost
1.85 billion EURO without taking into account the costs of financing and updating with the inflation rate on the date when the contract for the refurbishment of Cernavoda CNE Unit 1 will be signed.
Funding structure
TBD in stage 2
Socio-economic effects
30 years of operation starting with the year 2029
Hundreds of new jobs
Contributions in the economy
Tons of CO2 avoided
5 million tons of CO2 avoided annually
