Romania Outlines Energy Strategy to 2035

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) --Romania has announced its draft energy plan to 2035, which will see the country add almost 15,000 megawatts (MW) of new power generating capacity.

The government has estimated that E30 to E40 billion ($43-$57.6 billion) will be needed to build approximately 14,800 MW of new capacity. Romania will be forced to close one-third of its existing power plants by 2020 in order to comply with European Union (EU) emissions regulations. By 2035, that percentage will rise to half. Currently about 60% of the country's electricity is generated by coal-fired plants.

Nuclear power will play a central role in allowing Romania to fill the power gap, despite many other European countries currently rethinking their nuclear stance in the wake of the ongoing problems at the Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant. The country is aiming to add 4,600 MW to its existing nuclear capacity of 1,400 MW.

The government intends to forge ahead with its plan of building two new reactors at its only existing nuclear facility, Cernavoda, as well the future construction of a new nuclear facility. However, the E4 billion Cernavoda expansion has been plagued by problems. Last October, the Czech Republic's largest utility, CEZ AS (PRG:BAACEZ) (Prague, Czech Republic), pulled out of the project to build the new units and agreed to sell its 9.15% share in the project to other investors. For additional information, see October 11, 2010, article - CEZ Pulls Out Of Romanian and Polish Power Projects.

Romania's state-owned Nuclearelectrica (Bucharest) created a joint venture, EnergoNuclear, in 2008 to oversee the project, and the company controls a 51% stake. The other partners include ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg), Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Rome Italy), RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), Electrabel S.A. (Brussels, Belgium), Iberdrola S.A. (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain) and GDF Suez S.A. (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France).However, in January this year, GDF, Iberdrola and RWE also walked away from the project, citing economic uncertainty. For additional information, see January 26, 2011, article - Romanian Nuclear Project Hit by Departures.

"The most efficient solution to produce electricity, for the period between 2020 and 2035, is a new nuclear power plant," the ministry stated. "We will install the third and fourth reactors at the Cernavoda plant by 2020, and after that, depending on the evolution of consumption, we will start working on the second nuclear power plant."

In addition to nuclear, Romania is expecting renewables such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower, to grow to 38% of its power mix by 2035.

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