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EconMin Popescu: Transformation of Energy System must be done on clean technologies
Romania needs investments to transform the Energy System, which must be done on clean technologies, based on competitive mechanisms, Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Milieu Virgil Popescu told the event Romanian Energy Day Conference, organized by the Romanian Energy Center.
"Romania needs investments to transform the Energy System. (...) Romania and the US have signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement that will contribute to the refurbishment of the Cernavoda plant. US interest in this project is welcome because we need an investor. All this gives credibility, but also a strong political signal about the involvement of the Romanian government in this field. We want to make all these investments in the field of nuclear energy together with the Americans, Canadians and with the French to meet all the targets set for 2030 (...) Romania can accept the new targets under certain conditions [from the European Ecological Pact]. The characteristics of each member state must be taken into account and, at the same time, we must take into account long-term socio-economic implications," Popescu said.
The energy minister argued that Romania must find new ways to capitalize on natural gas, as well as investments in the offshore area.
He reminded that Romania and the US have signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement that will contribute to the retooling of the Cernavoda power plant.
Romania and the US have initialed an extended intergovernmental agreement that allows cooperation in areas of importance to Romania, such as the project of Units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, the retooling of Unit 1, as well as cooperation on various levels in the civilian nuclear field in Romania.
In addition to the current projects, Reactors 3 and 4 and the Retooling of Cernavoda's Unit 1, the Agreement provides for long and very long cooperation through the possibility of developing small modular reactors in Romania, on a location to be established, in order to ensure future flexibility and the scalability of nuclear technologies.
The technology used in the development of reactors 3 and 4 will be CANDU 6, similar to the one currently used in units 1 and 2.
Regarding the financing component, the US expresses its strong interest in using Exim Bank, US International Development Finance Corporation and other applicable and available financing institutions in US to support the global financing of projects.