Energy Minister: Belene NPP, Nuclear Energy Priorities for Bulgaria

Business » ENERGY | June 18, 2010, Friday // 16:53
Bulgaria: Energy Minister: Belene NPP, Nuclear Energy Priorities for Bulgaria Little progress has been achieved at the construction site of Bulgaria's drawn-out Belene NPP project. Photo by BGNES.

Bulgaria has not made any decision to freeze or give up the NPP Belene project, stated Bulgarian energy minister Traicho Traikov.

Bulgaria moreover will make institutional commitments to nuclear energy, stated Traikov at a conference organized for Bulgarian Energy Day, as reported by BGNES.

An exchange trading in electrical power will be created in Bulgaria by 2010 as part of the state strategy for the development of energetics for 2020.

What Bulgaria has done is to limit to the absolute minimum state spending on the project, until its financial structure becomes clear, said Traikov. The market is to decide whether Belene would be realized, added he, stating that Bulgaria for the time being is loath to commit public funds.

Submissions of technical and financial proposals for a tender for project consultants is expected in the next few days, announced the Bulgarian energy minister.

The goal of the government is to find a reliable investor who can commit to the projects.

Traikov also expounded on German RWE's withdrawal from the project. According to him, some conditions that RWE required in order to invest were not going to be fulfilled – such as the state's investing EUR 5 B (51%) of the project, and concluding of a contract with the Russian Atomstroyexport. He dismissed giving any other reasons for RWE's withdrawal as the sign of a “wooden head that is not able to comprehend a most elementary fact”, according to BGNES.

Traikov added that building additional reactors at the existing Kozlody NPP is another matter and that Bulgaria will go forth with the Belene project first.

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Tags: energy projects, Belene NPP, Kozloduy NPP, Traicho Traikov

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