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Released November 15, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Romania wants to be the first European country to deploy small modular reactor (SMR) technology and has signed up with leading proponent NuScale Power (Portland, Oregon).
On the sidelines of the recent COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry issued a joint statement claiming "Romania has the potential to accommodate the first deployment of SMRs in Europe."
U.S. SMR developer NuScale and Romania's state-owned Nuclearelectrica (Bucharest) have agreed to work toward deploying a first NuScale 6-module, 462-megawatt (MW) power plant in Romania as early as 2027/2028--two years before the first planned U.S. SMR plant of the same scale. The project will generate 193 permanent power plant jobs, 1,500 construction jobs, 2,300 manufacturing jobs and help Romania avoid 4 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The country aims to phase out almost 4.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power by 2032, with the goal of reusing some of the sites for SMRs.
Industrial Info earlier reported that NuScale had received a US$1.35 billion boost from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). The 10-year cost-sharing grant will allow the company to demonstrate and deploy 12 of its planned 60-MW reactors at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) (Idaho Falls, Idaho). Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2025, and the first SMR is scheduled to be operating four years later. For additional information, see November 2, 2021, article-Small Nuclear Reactors Get Billion-Dollar Boost from U.S. DOE.
"Building and operating small modular reactors will have proven environmental benefits of clean, emissions-free energy, bringing direct socio-economic benefits to the community it serves and generating continued prosperity for the regional industry and economy," said Virgil Popescu, Romania's Minister of Energy. "We aim to develop the first SMR this decade in order to meet our critical energy demand and green targets securing a quality future for the generations to come. Decarbonization with nuclear power is possible."
Romania plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% until 2030 and its import dependency from 20.8% today to 17.8% in 2030. It believes that nuclear energy has an "essential role in achieving these decarbonization targets," according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State. "This pioneering initial step by Romania will build significant momentum for reducing emissions across Europe. With 30 coal power plants in the region, including seven in Romania, SMRs are ideally suited to replace this baseload power and employ many of the same workforce. We are excited about this partnership with Romania in advancing emerging clean technologies."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
On the sidelines of the recent COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry issued a joint statement claiming "Romania has the potential to accommodate the first deployment of SMRs in Europe."
U.S. SMR developer NuScale and Romania's state-owned Nuclearelectrica (Bucharest) have agreed to work toward deploying a first NuScale 6-module, 462-megawatt (MW) power plant in Romania as early as 2027/2028--two years before the first planned U.S. SMR plant of the same scale. The project will generate 193 permanent power plant jobs, 1,500 construction jobs, 2,300 manufacturing jobs and help Romania avoid 4 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The country aims to phase out almost 4.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power by 2032, with the goal of reusing some of the sites for SMRs.
Industrial Info earlier reported that NuScale had received a US$1.35 billion boost from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). The 10-year cost-sharing grant will allow the company to demonstrate and deploy 12 of its planned 60-MW reactors at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) (Idaho Falls, Idaho). Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2025, and the first SMR is scheduled to be operating four years later. For additional information, see November 2, 2021, article-Small Nuclear Reactors Get Billion-Dollar Boost from U.S. DOE.
"Building and operating small modular reactors will have proven environmental benefits of clean, emissions-free energy, bringing direct socio-economic benefits to the community it serves and generating continued prosperity for the regional industry and economy," said Virgil Popescu, Romania's Minister of Energy. "We aim to develop the first SMR this decade in order to meet our critical energy demand and green targets securing a quality future for the generations to come. Decarbonization with nuclear power is possible."
Romania plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% until 2030 and its import dependency from 20.8% today to 17.8% in 2030. It believes that nuclear energy has an "essential role in achieving these decarbonization targets," according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State. "This pioneering initial step by Romania will build significant momentum for reducing emissions across Europe. With 30 coal power plants in the region, including seven in Romania, SMRs are ideally suited to replace this baseload power and employ many of the same workforce. We are excited about this partnership with Romania in advancing emerging clean technologies."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
