Romania offers support for Cernavoda expansion, CGN says

The Romanian government has said it will help support the expansion of the country’s Cernavoda nuclear plantthrough potential electricity market reforms, rate mechanisms and financial incentives, state-owned ChinaGeneral Nuclear Power Corporation, or CGN, said in a statement January 21.  CGN is working with Romanian state-owned nuclear company Nuclearelectrica to potentially add two new reactorswith a capacity of at least 720 MW each at Cernavoda, following a preliminary agreement on the projectbetween the two companies in 2015.  CGN said that the January 20 letter, from Romanian Energy Minister Victor Vlad Grigorescu and Romanian PrimeMinister Dacian Julien Ciolos, outlined the    major areas of support and commitment    associated with theconstruction of the two new reactors at Cernavoda. Those areas could include    electricity market reform,electricity tariff mechanisms, electricity sales, state guarantees, financial incentive policies, andcontinuity of policies,    CGN said.  CGN, in the statement, quoted Zhang Qibo, the General Manager of CGN Romania, as saying that    CGN and itsRomanian counterpart [Nuclearelectrica] are in negotiations on a potential agreement to establish a jointventure company, with CGN as the holding company. Once established, the joint venture will be the soleplatform to take forward the development, construction and operation of the Cernavoda Project in thefuture.

Sursa: Platts