Romania plans to build second nuclear power plant

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Fri Oct 5, 2007 3:47pm BST CERNAVODA, Romania, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Romania plans to build a second nuclear power plant after the completion of two more reactors at its Cernavoda plant on the Danube river, Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said on Friday.

European Union newcomer Romania has set an Oct. 25 deadline to receive binding bids for the licence to build and operate Units 3 and 4 in Cernavoda, an investment estimated at 2.2 billion euros.

Its first reactor went on stream in 1996 and accounts for about 10 percent of Romania's power generation.

"After we complete units 3 and 4 we must continue to develop the nuclear system in Romania," Tariceanu told reporters in Cernavoda after the official opening of the the plant's second reactor.

"We must already start to think about where we will have the next nuclear power plant in Romania," he said, adding the Black Sea state needed to ensure it was not dependent on oil and gas energy resources.

With the second reactor entering commercial use on Friday, nuclear power will supply roughly 18 percent of total energy needs in Romania.

Tariceanu also said the Cernavoda plant, which was initially designed to have five reactors, will stop at four due to "insufficient technical capacity."

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