SNC-Lavalin’s Candu Energy has won a contract worth some C$64m to conduct design and engineering services for the Unit 1 Candu reactor at the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station in Romania as the first step to a future life extension project.
Over 2.5 years, the company will provide engineering and early procurement services for retubing work to replace components of the reactor core. New fuel channels, pressure tubes and feeders would see the reactor’s operating life extended to 2060, it said.
Cernavoda’s Unit 1 reactor alone supplies 10% of Romania’s electricity.
“Europe is contending with the most significant energy crisis of this century; it is faced with the challenge of shifting electricity generation to sources that are Net Zero while also working to ensure the continuity of its energy supply,” said Ian L. Edwards, SNC-Lavalin chief executive.
Cosmin Ghiță, CEO of Nuclearelectrica S.A, which operates the plant, said: “We have a long-term mission of generating clean energy – 33% of the total decarbonised power in Romania – at excellent standards of safety, and the refurbishment of Unit 1 will provide Romania with another 30 years of baseload clean energy.”
