October 28 (SeeNews) - The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a $14 million (13.96 million euro) grant to Romanian project company RoPower Nuclear (RoPower), for the deployment of a first-of-its-kind small modular reactor (SMR) plant, nuclear power plant operator Nuclearelectrica [BSE:SNN] said.
The grant will be used for the front-end engineering and design study which will include key project development elements such as a layout and plot plan for the site, a budget estimate, and an environmental impact analysis execution plan, Nuclearelectrica, which established RoPower together with partner Nova Power & Gas, said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Thursday.
The front-end engineering and design study builds on a recently completed $1.2 million USTDA study that identified suitable sites, technology options, and a licensing roadmap for the SMR project.
"Multiple U.S. government agencies and the U.S. private sector are working in partnership with Romania to achieve its energy security and climate objectives," USTDA director Enoh T. Ebong said.
The White House announced the U.S. government's intention to provide the $14 million grant to Romania for the project in June.
In May, Nuclearelectrica [BSE:SNN] and NuScale, the company that designs and markets small modular reactors, announced that the first SMR in Romania will be deployed by 2030 at the former Doicesti power plant in Dambovita county.
The site was identified following an examination process conducted within a $1.2 million grant from the USTDA awarded to Nuclearelectrica in early 2021. Nuclearelectrica is planning to deploy a NuScale 6-module, 462 MWe power plant in Doicesti by the end of the decade, which is estimated to offset 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The site is also expected to generate 193 permanent jobs for its operation, along with 1,500 construction jobs and 2,300 manufacturing jobs, the two companies said at the time.
Blue-chip Nuclearelectrica's shares traded 0.13% higher at 39.85 lei ($8.18/ 8.15 euro) at 0935 CET on the Bucharest bourse on Friday.
(1 euro = 4.8890 Romanian lei)
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