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The future of Nuclear energy in Romania

The nuclear energy is a controversial issue of the past decades. The development of the process to produce this, its improvement in time, as well as the management of radioactive wastes - these were only a few of the topics approached yesterday during the Round Table organized yesterday by the daily newspaper “Nine O’ Clock”.

Representatives of Ministry of Economy, companies with activities in the field and several ambassadors did not hesitate to comment even on the more difficult aspects of the field that the future of energy depends on and which may become an important aspect for the economic development. The talks were opened by “Nine o’clock” Director Radu Bogdan, who underlined how important was the development of energy in Romania, considering the energy crisis worldwide. Andrei Goicea, representing Nuclearelectrica, stressed the need for a good understanding of nuclear energy as a phenomenon in an energy-dependant world. He noted that the mission of SN Nuclearelectrica SA was the production of electricity and heat by the process of nuclear fission and the manufacturing of nuclear fuel under conditions of maximum safety, competitiveness and with respect for the environment and the public. The CANDU-type nuclear fuel production started in 1980 with the commissioning of the pilot station as a fuel unit of the Pitesti Institute for Nuclear Research (ICN). The Nuclear Fuel Plant (FCN) broke away in 1992 and has been operated as a stand-alone entity ever since. In 1994, FCN was authorised by AECL and Zircatec Precision Industries Inc. (Canada) as a CANDU 6-type nuclear fuel producer. Later on, in 2004, with little investment, FCN Pitesti expanded its production capacity to meet the fuel demand of two units of CNE Cernavoda and, in 2006, it completed the investment through it’s the plant’s capacity had been doubled. ‘Nuclearelectrica, Arcelor Mittal, CEZ, GDF-Suez, Enel Iberdrola and RWE will develop reactors there and four of the Cernavoda nuclear power station,’ said Goicea. He also emphasized the fact that over 55 per cent of Romanism versus 37 per cent of other EU citizens are in favour of developing nuclear energy. He added that people living in the Cernavoda area accept the project in a proportion of 59 per cent, being aware of the benefits of the station. Stela Diaconu, with the National Agency for Radioactive Waste (ANDRAD) supported Andrei Goicea’s opinions, showing that the proper management of radioactive waste does not pose any risk to the public and that a number of surveys and analyses had shown that Romanians support nuclear energy. An opinion poll conducted in 2006, followed by another one, in 2008, identified an increase in the public confidence in nuclear energy from 55 per cent (2206) to 68 per cent (2008). ‘The same has happened in other countries’ said Stela Diaconu. Sixty per cent of the Romanian public are aware of the lower price of nuclear energy, said the ANDRAD official. Forty-two per cent of Romanians would be in favour of nuclear energy if they knew for certain that radioactive waste is not harmful. ‘Even if we had no nuclear power stations, similar waste would still be generated by the industry, medicine and research,’ was her conclusion. ‘The population supports the Cernavoda project,’ said John Saroudis, Regional Vice-President Canada AECL. Romania and Canada share a common history pf co-operation in the nuclear field, said Saroudis. ‘Canada is a pioneer in the field, with an industry reaching USD 6 bln, giving jobs to 30,000 and 150 companies,’ Saroudis explained. He pointed out there are 33 CANDU reactors all over the world and that AECL provides the design, construction and servicing. He noted that units 1 and 2 worked very well and that the current technology is reliable. CANDU reactors use uranium as resources, but can also use Thorium, MoX fuel or Nue. Saroudis reassured that the highest standards and all environmental regulations are observed. ‘The demand for energy will double by 2030, and nuclear energy will get to play an important role,’ said John Saroudis. He pointed out that, while between 1960 and 1970, it had been looked at as a source of cheap energy; things had changed between 1990 and 2000. After the 1979 Three Mile Island and 1986 Chernobyl accidents, reactor performance has improved. According to Saroudis, Romania is very well located from a strategic point of view, benefits from government support and from qualified human resources, and AECL develops reactors that are very suitable for Romania’s needs. ‘Romania will need more energy as it develops. Financial resources are needed and investors have noticed the opportunity. The private sector has understood the benefits of participating in a project like this’ said Saroudis. ‘Romania and Canada have an excellent co-operation in the field,’ Canadian Ambassador to Bucharest H.E. Marta Moszczenska also said. Ansaldo Nucleare company also represented at the debate initiated by ‘Nine O’Clock’, contributed with expertise and equipment to the development of the Cernavoda nuclear power station units 1 and 2. Ansaldo has been with the project since the beginning and is also interested to participate in the construction of units 3 and 4. State Secretary with the Ministry of Economy Tudor Serban said Romania would have needed two nuclear stations, but time and needed resources had made it impossible. ‘Dobrogea is an important hub of the Romanian energy system, reactors 3 and 4 are objectives of maximum importance and we do not wish to have any delays in developing them,’ said Tudor Serban. ‘We are interested in the project, in the choice of the equipment and performance as such. Our strategy entails a very good design to ensure maximum safety. We are also careful about the price and time scale. We will be very strict about deadlines and we want the construction of reactors 3 and 4 to take less time than the construction of reactors 1 and 2 did,’ he said. On the other hand, Tudor Serban stated Romania had the necessary conditions to develop a proper technology to handle radioactive waste. Another important topic raised by the representative of the Ministry of Economy was the building of a second nuclear power station somewhere in the centre of the country. However, Tudor Serban would not disclose more details about that particular intention. He stressed the importance of a positive response of the European authorities to the Cernavoda units 3 and 4 project and informed that the first steps in that direction would be taken at a meeting in Prague the following week. There are several other projects to develop wind farms in Dobrogea, as well as an intention to export electricity to Turkey. ‘An undersea cable will be deployed across the Black Sea, convey 500-1,000 Mw to that region,’ he explained. ‘We intend to be one of the most important electricity suppliers and distributors in this part of Europe,’ Serban further said. He admitted that no energy is cheap, but, for Romania, nuclear energy would be a very good choice, the second best after hydro energy. Attending the event, Ribiana Crasan – Director General of the Large Corporate Customers Division, BRD – stated her bank was very interested in the project for the construction of the Cernavoda units 3 and 4. ‘We are interested in the project and we are looking forward to the financing phase,’ she said. In fact, BRD participated in the financing of units 1 and 2 starting from 2002. The conclusions were drawn by the representative of the Ministry of Economy, Florin Marza: ‘Romania has a tradition of nuclear energy and we can assure you that everything that will be developed in this country will be very safe. We are organising ourselves to play the role that we already have in this region and we intend to strengthen the energy policy of the European Union.’ Sursa: http://www.nineoclock.ro

Tags: nuclear energy rsquo project reactors waste saroudis serban construction lsquo would units radioactive romania field important canada station cernavoda brd

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