March 2 (SeeNews) - Westinghouse Electric said on Thursday that it reached an agreement with Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) to do the groundwork for the potential construction of one or more AP-1000 reactors at the plant.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the US company and Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild (KNPP–Newbuild), a special project company owned by Kozloduy NPP and established to manage the planned construction of one or two new nuclear reactors using existing infrastructure and advanced licensing and environmental status, Westinghouse said in a press release.
In January, Bulgaria approved the use of technology by Westinghouse for building additional nuclear reactors at Kozloduy, on the Danube river, the parliament directed the caretaker government to start facilitating a construction project for a new Unit 7 at the site by March 1. Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant, is operating two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors of 1000 MW each, Unit 5 and Unit 6. Their operational licences will expire in 2027 and 2029, respectively.
Westinghouse and KNPP–Newbuild will now set up a joint working group which will be in charge of initial project planning. The group will also assess regulatory, licensing and design bases in Bulgaria to ensure full compliance with applicable regulations and will look into streamlining the potential project execution path to enable Bulgaria to achieve its nuclear energy goals, according to the press release.
Bulgaria will be the first country in Europe where the AP-1000 technology will be deployed, with four such reactors currently in operation in China and the first two units due to be commissioned in the US this year, Elias Gedeon, senior vice president for commercial operations at Westinghouse said at an energy conference in Sofia earlier this week.
Advancing a bid to eliminate its former near-total dependence on Russian energy supplies, Bulgaria last year agreed with Westinghouse to receive fresh nuclear fuel for its Unit 5, with fuel for Unit 6 to be supplied by France's Framatome.
Boosting Bulgaria's nuclear power generation forms part of a new energy plan put forward by the caretaker government in January.
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