The Cernavodă nuclear power plant remains shut down / The reactors cannot be restarted because of the Danube’s low flow rate

Reactors 1 and 2 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant will remain shut down until the end of November after the state of alert caused by the Danube’s extremely low flow rate was extended by 30 days. The decision was made by the National Committee for Emergency Situations and announced by the new energy minister, Dumitru Chisăliță.

The Danube’s flow rate is expected to fall next week to approximately 1,550 cubic metres per second, well below the 4,900 cubic metres per second considered necessary for the plant to operate under normal conditions. River water is used to cool the reactors’ systems.

However, the energy minister said that, according to current forecasts, one of the reactors could be restarted around November 15 if the hydrological situation improves.

Unit 1 was shut down in a controlled manner on July 28, and Unit 2 on August 13. The Cernavodă plant has two operational reactors, out of the five originally planned. Meanwhile, the minister requested support from the member states of the Nuclear Alliance for the modernization of Unit 1, a project being reviewed by the European Commission as part of a state aid investigation.