Bulgaria GERB Govt Mulls Reviving Kozloduy Nuclear Plant

Bulgaria’s government of the GERB party is considering the construction of new nuclear units at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.

This was announced Thursday by Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, during a conference in Sofia entitled “Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy in the Conditions of Crisis”.

Traikov said the results from the government’s survey on the options for constructing new nuclear units at Kozloduy were expected in December 2009. Based on them, the GERB government is going to look at the possibilities for creating a new 1 000 MW reactor there.

The Minister said there was a double-digit probability that a new Kozloduy unit would be constructed.

He pointed out that the plant had all the necessary infrastructure for the building of a new reactor.

Only the two 1 000 MW units 5 and 6 are in operation at Kozloduy as the four 440 MW units 1-4 were shut down in 2002 and 2006 in accordance with an agreement with the European Commission.

Traikov also said he expected American energy companies to demonstrate interest in the construction of the second Bulgarian nuclear power plant at Belene. The tender for selecting a consultant to prepare the tender for a new private investor at Belene is due to start in the coming weeks.

When asked if it made any sense for Bulgaria to build both a new Kozloduy reactor, and the two planned reactors at Belene, the Minister said that would not be a problem if it is certain that there would be sufficient markets.

In his words, there is a deficit of electricity in the region at the moment but there are also many competing projects all over the region, thus the main question is who will manage to make its project the most efficient .