NuScale Power told investors this week that its six-module RoPower small modular reactor (SMR) project in Romania is heading toward a mid-2026 go/no-go decision, the highest-stakes calendar event the company faces in 2026 outside its US Tennessee Valley Authority program. Success would make Doicesti the site of the world’s first commercial NuScale plant.
What RoPower Actually Is
RoPower Nuclear is the joint venture between Romania’s state-controlled utility Nuclearelectrica and US developer ENTRA1 Energy. The project plans to build six NuScale Power Modules at the former Doicesti coal site, around 90 km northwest of Bucharest, for a combined 462 MW of dispatchable, zero-carbon capacity. The FEED 2 study has been completed by Fluor Corporation, NuScale’s majority owner, with the updated cost estimate, schedule and safety analyses needed to lock in a final investment decision.
Korean Heavy Industry Plugs In
NuScale recently closed an industrial partnership with Doosan Enerbility and Samsung C&T in South Korea to manufacture the pressure vessels and engineer the balance of plant. Earlier coverage on the South Korea SMR deal set up the supply chain that now feeds RoPower. Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States is independently moving on its own NuScale build, giving the supplier base two large simultaneous orders to absorb.
Why Mid-2026 Is The Real Catalyst
Nuclearelectrica’s shareholders signed off on the final investment decision in principle earlier in 2026, but the cost-and-schedule lock-in tied to FEED 2 still needs a board vote. CEO John Hopkins has indicated the formal FID will land between mid-2026 and early 2027. If RoPower greenlights, NuScale stock holders — already watching Holtec’s SMR-300 win in Utah — will finally have a paid commercial reference plant on the books.
Reporting based on coverage from World Nuclear News, Power Magazine, Neutron Bytes and SEC filings.