Nuclearelectrica talks about risks in the case of the Doicești mini-reactors, including gas emissions in the area

The Ministry of Energy led by Bogdan Ivan (PSD) requested, as the majority shareholder of Nuclearelectrica, that the final investment decision be made next month in the project of the innovative mini-reactors from Doicești, which would be developed by the Americans from NuScale. A Nuclearelectrica document, however, calls into question the compliant operation of small modular reactors (SMRs).

The document is a memo that will be discussed at the General Meeting of Shareholders on February 12, when the final investment decision will be voted on.

According to the document, RoPower Nuclear, the project company, analyzed, within the feasibility study, four scenarios for the implementation of the Doicești mini-reactors project. “Scenario A1.3, considered the most balanced from the perspective of risk distribution”, was recommended, according to the note published on the Nuclearelectrica website.

• The RoPower Nuclear project company is owned by Nuclearelectrica, a state-owned company, and Nova Power and Gas, a private company, each with 50%.
• NuScale, the American company that would develop the mini-reactors, is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. A stock report shows that the stock price has fallen 64% in the past year, even as Fluor, a major investor in NuScale Power, sells its stake.

Paying for a single reactor is recommended until compliant operation is demonstrated

The recommended scenario involves the initial commissioning of a single NuScale Power Module (NPM) with a capacity of 77 MWe gross, with the other five modules to be purchased and installed only after the first has been demonstrated to be in compliance.

The scenario provides for two contractual options:

• First option: RoPower only purchases the first module, and modules 2–6 remain NuScale's responsibility, being paid only after fully validated operation of the first module.
• Second option: RoPower purchases all six modules, with NuScale contractually obligated to fully reimburse the costs of modules 2–6 if the first module does not perform as designed.

The project company recommends final investment decision with conditions imposed on Americans from NuScale

The project calendar indicates July 2033 as the estimated date for commercial operation of the first module and December 2034 for the entire plant, subject to commercial agreements on the other modules.

RoPower Nuclear is recommending a conditional final investment decision, the most important condition being NuScale's firm commitment to one of the two options on the remaining modules up to six.

Gas emissions in the area where the mini-reactors will be

The project company considers that a series of activities necessary for the preparation of the pre-EPCPre-EPC phase (preparation stage before the actual construction) must be carried out, which involves technical works and documentation necessary for the advancement of the project.

RoPOwer talks about risks due to some gas emissions. The project company believes that “measures to prevent, monitor and mitigate the risks potentially derived from the existing situation regarding the emission of natural gases identified in the area (on the adjacent site-Soceram)” must be taken.

The next stage will cost 600 million dollars

After the investment decision, the pre-EPC phase will allow the detailed definition of the budget, contractors, contract architecture, financing structure and implementation schedule, depending on the evolution of the SMR technology. This stage will take approximately 15 months and the costs are estimated at around USD 600 million.

Key contracts in this phase include: the pre-EPC contract, the extension of the technology license agreement with NuScale, EIA contracts, permitting services, geotechnical works and integrated risk assessment, all with the role of ensuring the continuity, regulatory compliance and mitigation of the technical risks of the project.

The studies have already cost over 200 million euros

HotNews wrote that the Doicești nuclear mini-reactors project has reached the following point, three years after its launch: over 200 million dollars spent, the absence of a final investment decision and a completed real estate transaction in favor of the private partner of the state company Nuclearelectrica.

The project involves the construction of six nuclear reactors of 77 MW each in Doicești (Dâmbovița), on land purchased in 2021 by the private company Nova Power and Gas. He bought it for five million euros and sold it to the project company, of which the state is also a part, through Nuclearelectrica.

The state company transmitted, at the request of HotNews, that, until now, “the total cost of the project is approximately 210 million USD”.

How much of this amount was borne by Nuclearelectrica and how much by the private partner Nova Power and Gas with which it established the project company RoPower Nuclear SA? Nuclearelectrica replied that, until now, the contribution of the private partner consisted of the contribution to the share capital of the project company RoPower Nuclear. That is, almost 20 million lei, representing his half of the company's share capital.

The land at Doicești, a deal for Nuclearelectrica's partners

In the project company RoPower Nuclear SA, Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power and Gas each own 50%.

The Nova Power and Gas company was the owner of the land in Doicești where the mini-reactors would be built. He had bought this land in 2021, a few months before the project was launched. Last year, in the summer, it sold the land to the project company that owns it together with Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned company admitted to HotNews.

The land was purchased in 2021 for around 5 million euros and sold this year for over 40 million euros, Nuclearelectrica sources told HotNews, under the protection of anonymity. The amount has not been officially confirmed by Nuclearelectrica, claiming that it is “confidential”.

What Nova Power & Gas says

While Nuclarealectrica says that Nova Power's contribution to the project consisted of the share capital of the project company, Nova Power & Gas stated, through a press release, that it carried out “extensive development works” on the land in Doicești.

“Nova Power & Gas, part of the E-INFRA group, continues to support and invest, with confidence, in the SMR project from Doicești. The company representatives stated that their own investments in the development of the first SMR project in Europe will continue, at the pace and terms established with the project partners from Romania and the USA”, the press release states.

“The site of the Doicești site is completely transformed. Where it used to be one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the country, it is now a greened site, prepared for the development of the SMR project both on the surface and underground. The works carried out from NOVA investments for the benefit of the Doicești SMR Project in the period 2022 – 2025 included complex and large-scale works, aiming to meet the requirements of the environmental authority and not least the special requirements of an SMR type nuclear project”, said Septimiu Costea, CEO of Nova Power & Gas.