Nuclearelectrica signs financing contracts for Cernavoda projects

Infrastructure works began earlier this month for the refurbishment of the first unit at the plant in Romania, and Nuclearelectrica says "it is currently at the second stage of execution which includes the activities necessary to prepare for the implementation of the project, such as: planning activities; concluding engineering, design, procurement and construction contracts; purchasing long-cycle equipment; developing the execution plan and building the infrastructure; obtaining the necessary permits; securing financing sources".

In December the company signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the estimated EUR1.9 billion refurbishment with a consortium of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, AtkinsRéalis's Candu Energy, Canadian Commercial Corporation and Ansaldo Nucleare.

In November last year the EPC management contract for the completion of Cernavoda units 3 and 4 was signed with the FCSA Joint Venture including Fluor, AtkinsRéalis, Ansaldo Nucleare and Sargent & Lundy Energie. Nuclearelectrica said that the estimated value of the EPCM contract was about EUR3.2 billion.

The loan for the units 3 and 4 project will be used to finance the Limited Notice to Proceed phase which, Nuclearelectrica said, had the objectives of "developing the engineering necessary for the definition of the project; structuring and contracting the financing (by developing cost estimates and implementation schedules with a high degree of certainty); obtaining the European Commission's favourable view following the Project Opinion, in accordance with Article 43 of the Euratom Treaty and obtaining a positive decision in accordance with the relevant European provisions on state aid; adopting the Final Investment Decision for advancing to stage III (Construction)".

The full list of banks in the syndicate for unit 1 refurbishment is: Banca Comerciala Romana SA, Banca Transilvania SA, BRD Groupe Societe Generale SA, CEC Bank SA, Citibank Europe PLC, Dublin, Romania Branch, ING Bank NV Amsterdam-Bucharest Branch, UniCredit Bank SA and JP Morgan SE based in Germany. And for the financing of units 3 and 4 - Banca Transilvania SA, BRD Groupe Societe Generale SA, CEC Bank SA, ING Bank NV Amsterdam-Bucharest Branch, UniCredit Bank SA and JP Morgan SE based in Germany.

Cosmin Ghiță, General Manager, Nuclearelectrica, said: "The two financing agreements signed today with the banking syndicate formed and led by JP Morgan SE ... aim to advance, according to the schedule, two of Nuclearelectrica's strategic projects …  our objective is to deliver safe and available energy, according to plan, without delays, without cost overruns."

Daniel Adam, Chief Financial Officer, Nuclearelectrica, said: "We are pleased to note that both projects … have attracted considerable interest from top banks in Romania, a testament to the Romanian banking sector's confidence in Nuclearelectrica's performance and operational excellence, as well as a partnership for the further development of this strategic energy sector, designed to provide predictable, reliable and clean energy for many decades to come."

Background

Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania and consists of two 650 MWe Candu reactors. Unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1996 and unit 2 in 2007. Most of the work on units 3 and 4 - like units 1 and 2, Candu-6 reactors - was done in the 1980s prior to the fall of the government of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989. It was reported in 2021 that unit 3 was 52% complete and unit 4 30% complete. Work is now planned to finish units 3 and 4, with scheduled commercial operation in 2030 and 2031.

The unit 1 refurbishment project began in 2017 and is currently in the second of three phases. The third phase, scheduled for 2027 to 2029, starts with the shutdown of unit 1 and includes all the work required on it and its recommissioning.

Candu units are pressurised heavy water reactors designed to operate for 30 years, with a further 30 years available subject to refurbishment. This includes the replacement of key reactor components such as steam generators, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and feeder tubes. It involves removing all the reactor's fuel and heavy water and isolating it from the rest of the power station before it is dismantled. Thousands of components, including those that are not accessible when the reactor is assembled, are inspected, and all 480 fuel channels and 960 feeder tubes are replaced during the high-precision rebuild.