The Bulgarian government pours BGN 500 million into 7th block of Kozloduy NPP

The Bulgarian Council of Ministers officially launched the implementation of the project for the 7th unit of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The news was announced by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, and the decision was taken at today's meeting of the cabinet. In addition, the prime minister announced that Bulgaria will also build an 8th unit at the nuclear power plant - something that has not been talked about until now.

The enterprise responsible will be capitalized with an additional BGN 500 million, and it will start negotiations with the companies that have to build the 7th block. The expected deadline is 2033", said Denkov.

We remind you that in the 2023 Budget Law of Bulgaria, which was adopted only three months ago, no money has been expressly earmarked for the construction of new nuclear facilities. This means that the funds must be taken either from the central budget, which the cabinet can dispose of at its own discretion, or from other streams - for example, the capital program traditionally used as a "buffer" by all governments to supply emergency funds.

Denkov did not specify which company will manage the project. There is an enterprise, called Kozloduy NPP - New Powers EAD, which was established specially for the 7th unit construction - and the logical dictates that it should drive both projects. The company has already signed a contract with Westinghouse to study the viability of constructing a new reactor using American technology at the Kozloduy site. This is the so-called "feed contract" (Front-End Engineering & Design) for preliminary engineering activities for the construction of a new reactor with the US AP1000 technology.

A week ago, Westinghouse, in turn, signed contracts with 5 Bulgarian companies to participate as subcontractors in the construction of the 7th unit.

PM Denkov announced before the government meeting on Wednesday that preparations will also begin for the 8th unit of the Kozloduy NPP, "since the plan is for the construction of both units to be parallel, and with about 2-3 years difference, they should be ready to supply the electrical grid."

The total capacity of the reactors will be 2300 megawatts - more than that of the four Kozloduy NPP units which were shut down before the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union.

Denkov also praised the new technology to be used in the two reactors.

It is unique and it allows changing the capacity of the reactors in a very short time, which is extremely important for managing the energy network once they come into operation", explained the Prime Minister.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov