May 24 (SeeNews) - Romanian nuclear power plant operator Nuclearelectrica [BSE:SNN] and US-based nuclear energy technology company NuScale announced that the first small modular reactor (SMR) in Romania will be deployed by 2030 at the former Doicesti power plant in Dambovita county.
The site was identified following an examination process conducted within a $1.2 million (1.12 million euro) grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded to Nuclearelectrica in early 2021, the companies said as part of a joint press release filed to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB, on Monday.
"Deploying NuScale’s small modular reactor on the Doicesti site will have proven energy security and environmental benefits by generating safe, stable, cost efficient and clean, emissions-free energy. Moreover, the project will bring direct socio-economic benefits to the community it serves and will generate continued prosperity for the regional industry and economy," Romania’s energy minister Virgil Popescu said.
Nuclearelectrica is planning to deploy a NuScale 6-module, 462 MWe power plant in Doicesti by the end of the decade, which is estimated to offset 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The site is also expected to generate 193 permanent jobs for its operation, along with 1,500 construction jobs and 2,300 manufacturing jobs.
"(...) we will form a nucleus of excellence for the nuclear industry in Romania and a hub for the region in terms of components production and assembly and preparing operators for the SMR technology in the region," Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita said.
NuScale and Nuclearelectrica signed a teaming agreement to advance the deployment of the first small modular reactor in Europe in November, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
NuScale is a Portland, Oregon headquartered company which is active in the field of nuclear energy. The majority investor in NuScale is Fluor Corporation, a global engineering, procurement, and construction company. NuScale has branches across the US, as well as an office in the UK.
Nuclearelectrica is a national electricity, thermal, and nuclear fuel producer. The Romanian state owns a 82.49% stake in the company, while the remaining shares are in free float on the BVB.
Blue-chip Nuclearelectrica's shares traded 0.44% higher at 45.2 lei/share at 1129 CET on the Bucharest bourse on Tuesday.
(1 euro = 4.9472 Romanian lei)
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