CEZ To Leave Romanian Cernavoda Nuke Project

„CEZ’s board has already approved the decision,” Adrian Borotea, corporate business manager with CEZ Romania, told MEDIAFAX.

Borotea said withdrawal procedures would be completed by December this year.

Romania, through state-owned nuclear energy company Nuclearelectrica, controls 51% in EnergoNuclear, a joint venture set up to build two new reactors at the country’s sole nuclear power plant in Cernavoda.

CEZ, Italy’s Enel, German RWE and Belgian-French group GDF Suez each own 9.15% in the joint venture, while ArcelorMittal Romania and Spanish Iberdrola control 6.2% of its shares each.

Mid-September, EnergoNuclear has launched renegotiation procedures for the construction of the two nukes in Cernavoda, as the current agreement expires on September 24.

Cernavoda currently operates two reactors of 700 megawatts power each and covers around 20% of Romania’s electricity production. The third and fourth reactors, with similar capabilities, are set to become operational in 2017.