Romania’s small modular reactor project gets key permit from regulator - Romania-Insider.com
Romania’s small modular reactor project gets key permit from regulator | Romania Insider
Romania’s small modular reactor project gets key permit from regulator
Romania’s nuclear company Nuclearelectrica (BVB: SNN) and its US partner NuScale Power saluted the approval by the nuclear market regulator CNCAN of the Licensing Basis Document (LBD) for the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) powerplant with a gross installed power of 462 MWe.
Following a comprehensive evaluation, the Romanian National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN) issued the official approval letter in August 2023 as confirmation of the Licensing Basis Document (LBD) conformity with the national regulatory requirements.
The approval of the Licensing Basis Document (LBD) represents a key milestone of the Small Modular Reactor Project, which will facilitate the implementation of the licensing process for all the stages of the NuScale Power plant in Romania. The LBD establishes the licensing requirements for the six-module power plant project, the applicable, both domestic and international, regulatory documents, codes and standards, as well as the project characteristics that ensure the fulfilment of the nuclear safety requirements and criteria.
Romania, through the project company RoPower, founded by Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power & Gas (part of the E-Infra Group), is the first country in Europe and the second in the world after the United States to take the first steps toward the implementation of NuScale’s SMR technology with a 6-module plant and an installed capacity of 462 MWe within this decade.
(Photo source: Nuclearelectrica.ro)
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.