KHNP teams up with Sargent & Lundy for Romanian project
25 January 2019
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has signed an agreement with USA-based engineering firm Sargent & Lundy to collaborate on a planned modernisation project at Romania's Cernavoda nuclear power plant.
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The signing ceremony for the agreement between KHNP and Sargent & Lundy (Image: KHNP)
Romania has two 650 MWe (net) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) at its Cernavoda site, which together provide about 17% of the country's electricity.
As part of a modernisation project, the Cernavoda plant is planning to order tritium removal facilities, radioactive waste storage facilities and pressure channels.
The Cernavoda reactors are of the same design as the Wolsong nuclear power plant in South Korea, at which KHNP has already completed a similar modernisation project. Sargent & Lundy has also participated in upgrading Canadian PHWRs.
"With this in mind, it is expected that the company will be able to bring new vitality to the domestic nuclear power industry through the joint venture with domestic nuclear power companies and the Romanian nuclear power plant business," KHNP said.
The South Korean company said it plans to focus its efforts on gaining orders in Europe, including in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Located in Constanta County, the Cernavoda plant was initially planned as the site for five Candu 6 reactors. Units 1 and 2 started operations in 1996 and 2007, respectively.
In October 2017, Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica SA received shareholder approval to start upgrading unit 1 of the Cernavoda plant. Phase I of the refurbishment project will include "activities necessary to ensure the operation of unit 1 for a period of 30 years, meaning the extension of the operating hours at nominal power in addition to the 210,000 hours initially estimated by the design", Nuclearelectrica said. The refurbishment outage at the unit is expected to take place between December 2026 and December 2028.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News