Photo: NuScale Power
The Export-Import Bank of the United States signed off on a USD 98 million loan for a small modular reactor (SMR) project in Doicești in Romania. The final investment decision is slated to be made after the completion of the upcoming FEED study.
RoPower Nuclear’s 462 MW small modular reactor project is the most advanced in the European Union and beyond. The endeavor just passed another milestone. The Board of Directors of the US Export-Import Bank – Exim Bank approved a final commitment for a USD 98 million loan for pre-project services.
The site is northeast of Bucharest, near the village of Doicești in Dâmboviţa county, at a former coal power plant. Project firm RoPower Nuclear’s owners, each with 50%, are state-owned Nuclearelectrica, operator of Romania’s only nuclear plant Cernavoda, and Nova Power and Gas, subsidiary of E-Infra from Cluj.
In its own statement, the joint venture said the loan is worth USD 99 million. It is part of the initial USD 275 million financing package.
US Exim Bank, which is the country’s export credit agency, and US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) have expressed interest in providing up to USD 3 billion and USD 1 billion, respectively.
Study underway to detail costs, schedule
The Ministry of Energy of Romania values the project at USD 4.9 billion.
The cost estimate should be more accurate when phase 2 of the front-end engineering design (FEED) is completed. Fluor was hired for the job in July, with NuScale as a subcontractor. The study needs to lay out the schedule as well. The next step is making the final investment decision, after which construction can start.
Burduja: Nuclearelectrica has every chance to operate other such projects across the entire region
“I am convinced that at the end of the decade we can be among the world’s first SMR-powered countries, which will mean a historic opportunity to develop a local supply chain, and Nuclearelectrica has every chance to operate other such projects across the entire region,” Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja said, as quoted by Agerpres.
The Doicești SMR would have a lifespan of 60 years.
South Korean private equity firm to own one third of Doicești SMR project
Of note, Romania gave a preliminary goahead for DS Private Equity’s DSPE Beta Private Equity Fund to acquire one third of RoPower Nuclear. The South Korean firm owns a minority stake in NuScale.
US Exim Bank pointed out that the VOYGR facility in Romania would be the first of its kind. Namely, NuScale scrapped its flagship project in Idaho a year ago. It cited a jump in projected costs of 75% to USD 9.3 billion for the SMR facility of the same size as in Doicești.
The credit export agency added that the new transaction would support 400 US jobs. Romanian officials expect the SMR project to directly create more than 2,000 jobs during construction. Another 230 would operate the plant.
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