Energonuclear has signed a 8-4 million dollars worth contract for the provision of engineering services during the preparatory stage of the project for the construction of units 3 and 4 of nuclear power plant Cernavoda with Candu Energy, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group.
Energonuclear is a project company established in 2009 to build and operate two new CANDU-type units at NPP Cernavoda, owned by electricity producer Nuclearelectrica. The preparatory stage will have a duration of 24 months in which technical, legal, financial assistance and engineering services will be contracted, as well as the conducting necessary studies and evaluations.
This contract follows the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Romania and the United States in 2020, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in August 2021 between Romania and Canada to strengthen and further develop the cooperation in nuclear energy civil projects and builds on the 55-year relationship between the two countries in developing nuclear projects.
Romanian Minister of Energy Virgil Popescu said that the partnership with USA and Canada will allow Romania to achieve its decarbonization targets, which is a very important step towards Romania’s energy independence.
The construction of two new units at NPP Cernavoda is included in Romania’s Energy Strategy, 2019-2030 with the perspective of 2050, as well as in the National Integrated Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change, as a pillar of Romania’s energy independence and reaching its decarbonization targets as the EU member state. In this respect, in October 2020, Romania signed an Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States in the field of nuclear energy projects. Also, US Exim Bank expressed, through a Memorandum of Understanding, with the Ministry of Energy, the interest to finance large investment projects in Romania, including nuclear ones, with a total amount of 7 billion dollars.