Romania - World Nuclear Outlook Report
Current operations
Two Candu-6 units at the Cernavodă nuclear plant have been in operation since 1996 and 2007. Unit 1 is to be refurbished, with major work scheduled from 2027 to 2029. The project is expected to extend the reactor's operating lifetime by another 30 years to 2060.
Cernavodă takes its cooling water from the Danube. In 2026, a drought led to the flow of the Danube falling to about a third of the July average. Cernavodă 1 shut down on 28 July and unit 2 on 13 August and were not expected to restart before late-October.
Table Ro.1 Nuclear capacity status (as of 1 October 2026)
| Operable reactors | Operable reactors net capacity (MWe) | Operable reactors gross capacity (MWe) | Reactors under construction | Reactors under construction gross capacity (MWe) | Carbon dioxide emissions avoided (cf. coal) (MtCO2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1300 | 1411 | 0 | - | 233 |
Nuclear policy and outlook
Construction began on the first four units at Cernavodă in 1983-84 and on unit 5 in 1987. Construction on the plant was halted in 1990 but resumed on unit 1 in 1991 and unit 2 in 2001.
There have been long-standing plans to complete the construction of the third and fourth units. In June 2023 a support agreement between the Romanian government and Nuclearelectrica allowed work to complete units 3&4 to progress. The units were projected to enter commercial operation in 2030 and 2031, respectively.
The EPC contract for the completion of units 3&4 was signed in November 2024 with the FCSA Joint Venture including Fluor, AtkinsRéalis, Ansaldo Nucleare and Sargent & Lundy Energie. Given that the full construction phase would only commence after a final investment decision, the 2030 and 2031 commercial operation dates are very unlikely to be met.
The shutdown of units 1&2 has highlighted the issue of providing sufficient cooling water to the plant. A 2024 draft government decision on restoring the Bala branch bifurcation of the Danube states that it would help secure the minimum cooling flow for Cernavodă. The works would take four years to complete but haven't started. Nuclearelectrica has said the works would allow all four units to operate at full capacity.
Separately, Romania has been exploring deployment of SMRs. In May 2022 a former coal plant site in Doicești, in the Muntenia region, was selected as the location for Romania’s first SMR. At the end of December 2022 RoPower (a joint venture between Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power & Gas) and NuScale Power signed a contract for the front-end engineering and design work for a six-module (6x77 MWe) VOYGR-6 power plant.
In February 2026, Nuclearelectrica shareholders approved a conditional FID for the VOYGR-6 plant, targeting operation of the first module in 2033. However, the project is currently experiencing intense political scrutiny and financial scaling adjustments.
Table Ro.2 Contributions to total capacity projection in 2050 (gross)
| 60 year operation (MWe) | 80 year operation (MWe) | Currently under construction capacity (MWe) | Planned capacity (MWe) | Proposed capacity (MWe) | Potential capacity (MWe) | Government capacity target (MWe) | Additional capacity* required to meet government target (MWe) | Total capacity (MWe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1411 | - | - | 1902 | - | - | 0 | 3313 | |
| *Capacity additional to operable, under construction, planned, proposed and potential capacities required to meet the government target. | ||||||||
Readiness Assessment
Romania is an established nuclear country with a defined programme covering all its projected capacity to 2050.
| Country Category | Restarter |
|---|---|
| Policy Framework Readiness | High Romania has sustained political commitment for completing Cernavodă 3&4, but prime minister Ilie Bolojan has publicly criticized the economic justification of the Doicești project. A state-backed project company, international agreements and financing mechanisms are in place for Cernavodă 3&4. |
| Institutional and Infrastructure Readiness | High The country has an experienced operator and regulator, strong CANDU expertise, domestic fuel fabrication and uranium processing capability, established spent fuel storage and international project partnerships. |
| Programme & Project Development Readiness | Moderate-High Cernavodă 1 refurbishment is firmly committed; units 3&4 have entered substantial preliminary works; Doicești is advanced but its conditional FID and FOAK technology retain significant uncertainty. |
| Target Achievability | Moderate The published 2030-31 schedule for units 3&4 is very unlikely to be met; the mid-2030s is the earliest likely start-up date. River works will be required to ensure sufficient cooling water supply. Financial issues related to the Doicești SMR plant are unresolved. |
