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Romania starts shutting down Cernavoda reactor as Danube hits 90-year low

Romania said Cernavoda would not restart within 10 days, and it plans to rely on coal and more wind to offset the loss of nuclear generation.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

Romania has begun shutting down its last operating nuclear reactor at the Cernavoda nuclear plant on the Danube after record-low river water levels forced nuclear power shutdowns across parts of central and eastern Europe, OilPrice reported. Nuclearelectrica, the Romanian state-owned nuclear operator, launched the process to disconnect the one operating 706-MW reactor at Cernavoda. The company previously shut down another reactor there at the end of July, citing drought and scorching temperatures that lowered Danube levels to the lowest in 90 years.

Cernavoda’s two reactors would typically generate about one-fifth of Romania’s electricity, but to replace the lost output Romania has switched on a 330-MW coal-fired power plant and expects to rely more on wind power where available. The director of the plant, Romeo Urjan, told AFP that the operator does not foresee a restart within the next ten days.

Romania attempted to postpone the shutdown by using efforts to alter the Danube’s flow, including blasting a rock formation and sinking barges filled with rocks. Other countries in the region have taken similar steps, with Hungary planning to sink barges and build a sill on the Danube to keep its Paks nuclear plant running.

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