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Romania restarts 300 MW coal unit after Danube drought shuts nuclear
The Danube’s lowest water levels in 90 years forced Romania to shut down both reactors at Cernavoda, cutting output by about 20% until the coal unit ramps back up.
Romania has restarted a 300-megawatt coal-fired power unit, aiming to offset generation losses after record-low water levels on the Danube forced the shutdown of the country’s only nuclear plant. OilPrice reports that the restart involves the Rovinari Group 4 coal-fired unit, which adds nearly 300 MW to Romania’s National Energy System.
The nuclear problem stems from insufficient river water to cool reactors at the Cernavoda plant. OilPrice says the two reactors at Cernavoda each have 680 MW installed capacity and typically generate about 20% of Romania’s power output, but the drought cut output as both reactors were taken offline.
According to OilPrice, the latest disruption followed Nuclearelectrica’s process to disconnect the one operating reactor at Cernavoda, launched August 13, while the other reactor had shut down at the end of July as drought and high temperatures worsened across Europe.
OilPrice adds that the Danube drought has also driven nuclear shutdowns in central and eastern Europe in recent weeks, underscoring the broader regional strain on water-dependent power generation.