February 4 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy has signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Sweden for conducting an analysis of an alternative fuel type for the plant's Unit 5, the government in Sofia said on Thursday.
The contract is part of the procedure for licensing an alternative fuel type for the Soviet-made Unit 5 and another step in Bulgaria's programme for diversification of fresh nuclear fuel suppliers, prime minister Boyko Borissov said in a statement.
"We are pleased that Kozloduy has once again demonstrated their confidence in Westinghouse's nuclear fuel performance, an important factor allowing for the safe operation of nuclear reactors," Tarik Choho, Westinghouse president, EMEA Operating Plant Services, said in a separate statement on Thursday.
The licensing process of Westinghouse fuel is a key safety pre-condition for nuclear fuel delivery and the company is committed to completing the licensing process, the Westinghouse statement reads.
In November, Kozloduy NPP said that it invited Westinghouse Electric Sweden to submit an offer for a 5.6 million euro ($6.7 million) deal to conduct an analysis for the licensing of an alternative fuel type. Westinghouse is the only other producer of fuel casks for VVER-1000 reactors used at Kozloduy NPP besides the power plant's current supplier - Russian nuclear fuel cycle company TVEL, Kozloduy NPP said at the time.
The Westinghouse VVER-1000 fuel is in operation in six nuclear reactors in Ukraine and has an ongoing licensing process in the Czech Republic.
Kozloduy NPP has two operational units - Units 5 and 6 - of 1,000 MW each. The two units' licenses are due for review in 2027 and 2029, respectively.
($ = 0.8404 euro)
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