Today, April 30th 2009, Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 has reiterated the record of 300 days of continuous operations. Both the Cernavoda NPP Units have long periods of operation without interruption and are operated at full power.
This remarkable result, that places Unit 1 in the top of effective nuclear power plants worldwide, was possible by ensuring absolute priority to nuclear safety, environment, personnel and population protection; Unit 1 was operated according to the technical requirements prescribed in the functioning authorization released by the Romanian Regulatory Body, respecting both national and international recommendations and regulations.
The two nuclear units at Cernavoda are situated in the top of 424 nuclear power reactors worldwide, according to the situation at the end of 2008, taking into account the Load Factor over the lifetime of the plant: Unit 1 – occupies position 43 with a Load Factor of 84,6% and Unit 2 – occupies position 11 with the Load Factor of 89,3%.
According to the rating of country average Load Factors, calculated over the lifetime of the reactors, which was published by the well-know Nuclear Engineering International magazine (April 2009), Romania with the two nuclear units in Cernavoda registered a Load Factor of 87%, the highest value among the 28 countries that operate nuclear power reactors (without China, Slovakia, Ucraine).
Cernavoda NPP ensures a constant percentage of 18% out of the total internal energy production, at a competitive price, proving itself to be a reliable producer.
The performances achieved by Cernavoda NPP in this period confirm that nuclear is one of the best options for the industrial energy production in Romania.