Electricity

Bulgaria moves to install new nuclear reactor at Kozloduy plant

kozloduy-nuclear-power-plant-reactor

Photo: Kozloduy NPP

Published

June 19, 2023

Country

Comments

comments icon

1

Share

Published:

June 19, 2023

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

1

Share

United States-based Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract on front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a new unit at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria, the first step in a project to install an AP1000 reactor at the site.

Under the contract, work is now commencing to assess whether the existing infrastructure at the Kozloduy site can support the construction of an AP1000 reactor, according to a press release from Westinghouse. The nuclear power plant currently has two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors in operation.

Earlier this year, Westinghouse and Bulgaria’s Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild set up a joint working group to plan the deployment of an AP1000 reactor, the press release recalled.

Westinghouse will deliver Generation III+ reactor technology for the Bulgarian plant

“We are pleased to begin work to deliver the world’s most advanced, Generation III+ reactor technology to provide clean and reliable baseload energy for our customer and the people of Bulgaria,” said David Durham, Energy Systems President for Westinghouse.

The US company also said that the AP1000 advanced reactor is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, adding that it has a modular construction design and the smallest footprint per megawatt of electricity generation capacity on the market.

Bulgaria ends reliance on Russian nuclear fuel

In December 2022, Westinghouse signed a 10-year agreement to supply nuclear fuel to one of the existing reactors at Kozloduy starting in 2024. The fuel will be supplied out of Westinghouse’s site in Västerås, Sweden. Bulgaria has also signed an agreement with France’s Framatom and declared an end to its reliance on Russian nuclear fuel.

Bulgaria’s former Acting Energy Minister Rossen Hristov recently said that the country was preparing to sign a bilateral agreement with the US on cooperation in nuclear energy, and that the document would be adopted by the incoming cabinet.

Comments (1)
Nick / June 21, 2023

For the optimistic tone of this article – up yours!

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

bih solar wind projects tso nosbih electricity generation plan

Investors in BiH developing 3,800 MW of wind, 12,500 MW of solar

29 April 2025 - The projections are from the indicative plan for the development of production 2026-2035, published by TSO NOSBiH

North Macedonia MEPSO contractor power line Albanian border

North Macedonia’s MEPSO seeks contractor for power line to Albanian border

29 April 2025 - MEPSO launched a tender for a 400 kV transmission line, the North Macedonian part of a planned interconnection with Albania

Electricity system Spain Portugal collapses from unknown cause

Electricity system in Spain, Portugal collapses amid extreme temperature variations

28 April 2025 - Power was out today throughout Spain and Portugal, in Andorra and parts of southern France amid one of the most serious outages so far

Episodes negative power prices Slovenia Romania workdays

Episodes of negative power prices in Slovenia, Romania spread to workdays

28 April 2025 - Romania and Slovenia are experiencing the first episodes of negative day-ahead power prices on workdays, as the phenomenon used to occur only on holidays and weekends